Trials
by Kibana Mirigeul
Summary: Hiro and Kisa. They finally admit their love for one another, but what happens when Akito finds out? BEWARE! FUTURE SECRET OF THE SOHMAS REVEALED.
1. Chapter 1

1

Chapter 1

Kisa closed her eyes as she rested against him. "I love you too... Hiro-kun..." she mumbled in a soft voice.

Hiro had to bite his lip hard now to keep from crying. He put his hands over hers, and sagged forward slightly, trembling.

Akito stood there, watching the two. Stepping forwards out of her hiding spot, she swung her fist towards Kisa's face angrily. "NO NO NO!" she yelled angrily.

Hiro moved quickly, stepping in front of the punch, and felt it connect with the side of his face painfully, he leaned hard to one side, and finally managed to right himself. "D- don't punish her... it was my fault, Akito-sama."

Kisa quietly hid behind Hiro, trembling slightly in fear.

"You hurt my hand you little..." she growled as she rubbed her fist sorely. "I told you not to get near her! AND YOU DIDN'T LISTEN!" she yelled loudly. Reaching behind Hiro, she grabbed Kisa's arm and began to drag Kisa away as Kisa obeyed.

Hiro rubbed his cheek and stepped forward. "That's right, Akito-sama. You told ME not to get close to her, and I did! Don't punish her because I disobeyed your orders!"

"BUT IT'S ALL HER FAULT THAT SHE LOVES YOU!" Akito yelled again as she dragged Kisa across the household, towards the cage she put Yuki in before.

Hiro took a step forward, and his knees gave out, tripping him. "But... but I loved her first, Akito-sama. I w- I was the one who said it first." His eyes welled up; once again he was unable to protect her... "And I'll never stop loving her..." the tears finally spilled over, and Hiro hated every minute of it.

"That won't change things... I punished you for loving her... now I must separate you two..." she growled as she opened the large cage door and shoved Kisa inside it. Kisa fell to the ground with a slight thump and then looked towards the door.

"Akito-sama... I'm sorry," she muttered, but Akito wouldn't listen as she shut the door to the cage.

Hiro continued to look down, sobbing quietly. "I hate Akito... I hate... I hate... I hate Akito..." He slammed his fist into the tatami matted floor. He stood up, and glared down the hallway. "I hate you Akito!" He screamed as loud as he could, his voice breaking.

Hatori turned the corner as Hiro yelled that and quickly shoved him behind him as Akito came hauling down the corner. "YOU WHAT!" she screamed angrily as she looked at Hatori. "Hatori... MOVE!" she screamed. Soon Kureno turned the corner and hugged Akito softly.

"Forgive him Akito... Forgive him..." he muttered.

Akito struggled for some time and finally settled down, turning and leaving in silence as Kureno followed after her.

Hiro continued to stare at the ground, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He tried to stop crying but he couldn't, having other people protect him hadn't helped his ego, either, and he felt utterly useless at that moment.

Kisa looked through the cage bars. "I'm sorry Hiro-kun..." she muttered in a slightly hurt voice. Hatori looked back at Kisa with a sigh.

Hiro clenched his fists tightly, tensing up as much as he could, readying himself for the next part. "What do you have against love, Akito-sama? Why do you forbid it so passionately?" his voice came out small, weak and pathetic, but at least everyone could hear him.

Akito did not respond as she walked away silently.

Hatori sighed softly and walked towards Kisa, placing his hand through the cage. "Are you all right Kisa?" he asked. Kisa nodded slightly and went back into the farthest corner of the cage and pulled her knees to her chest as she sat there.

Hiro finally managed to beat back his sadness enough to stop crying, and finally looked up at the cage, although doing so was his undoing. He turned and fled, unable to stand the sight, and his weakness any longer. He ran into Momiji as he ran, and shoved the other Sohma out of the way with a halfhearted "Out of my way rabbit".

Miji looked up at Hatori. "What's going on here? I've never seen Hiro look like..." he trailed off as he saw what was in the cage, and for once, Momiji's happy exterior crumbled away. "Now that's not fair!"

Kisa looked up at Momiji's voice and raced towards the door of the cage. "Momiji-kun!" she cried as tears swelled in the corners of her eyes.

Momiji smiled brightly back at her, walking up to the door of the cage and hugged her as best he could through the bars. "Hold on, we'll try and get something worked out now won't we, Hatori?" The way he said it was friendly, but almost had a threat to it.

Hatori sighed softly. "Yeah..." he muttered, his brain scanning thoughts of how to get Kisa out of the cage.

"Only Akito-sama has the key, right? And we still need someone to go make sure Hii-kun doesn't hurt himself," Momiji said softly, reaching back into the cage with his hand, and holding Kisa's.

"Mo-kun.." she mumbled softly as she put her small hand in his. "No telling Onee-chan..." she whispered softly.

Momiji smiled back at her softly. "No, we won't tell her... and Haru-kun is out of the picture. He'd go black the minute he saw this..." He scratched his chin in thought. "Hari-san?"

Hatori looked down at Momiji with his plain, normal face and his eyes gave him a slightly frustrated look. "Yes, Momiji... We won't tell them... The others... especially Yuki is what I am pondering about..." he mumbled. Kisa looked up at Hatori with teary eyes and sighed slightly.

Momiji squeezed Kisa's hand lightly, and grinned back at her. "Don't worry... we'll get you out of this soon enough!" He looked back at Hatori, and managed to keep his smile. "I'll look for Hii-kun if Yuki won't and you can call Yuki down here to help her." He shrugged. "It'd be hard to get Shigure-san or Kyo down here without alerting Tohru, because they never leave the house."

"Hmm... you are right... I'll call Yuki..." he muttered as he took out his phone and spoke with Yuki. "Yuki... will you look for Hiro? We can't find him... and well... It's a bit complicated..." he muttered.

Yuki, back at Shigure's house, looked at the phone, slightly confused. He hadn't expected a phone call, much less from Hatori. "Complicated, what happened?"

Miji smiled, and leaned back against the cage. He would stand here with her until Akito came back to chase him off, he was sure of that.

"Kisa and Hiro... Akito getting mad... The usual... But.. I've not seen Akito like this for a while... He locked Kisa... in the cage, Yuki..." he informed him as he looked back at Kisa and watched her close her eyes.

Yuki went dead silent on the phone at the other end, and for a moment, one would think he hung up, until he managed a soft, "I'll be there." He hung up the phone, and headed for the door, just as Tohru swung out of the kitchen with a smile on her face. Seeing Yuki getting ready to leave, though, she walked up to him.

"Where are you going, Yuki-kun?" she asked, tilting her head inquisitively to the side.

He sighed, but turned around and flashed her the best smile he could muster at the moment. "They want me to do something for Student Council... I might not be home in time for dinner..."

Tohru looked disappointed, but didn't try to stop him. "Alright, I'll save you some leftovers."

Yuki smiled back, and hurried off as fast as he could towards the main Sohma house. Once there, he walked in solemnly, trying his hardest not to look at the cage in fear, and failing. "Something about Hiro-kun?"

Kisa looked up with half opened eyes towards Yuki. "Yuki-kun... Hiro left..." she muttered softly from the cage. For some reason she was having troubles staying awake.

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Why would he leave her here like this?"

Miji shrugged as best he could. "I don't know, but he looked really upset..."

Yuki looked around, finally letting his eyes rest on Kisa. There was nothing but sympathy in his gaze. He looked back at Momiji. "You're always with him, where do you think he could've gone?"

Miji tapped his chin thoughtfully. "There's a park near here... he might have run there. I see him there a lot when he doesn't want me to," the last part he added with a smile.

Yuki looked out the door. "The park... I think I know where that is... and you two?"

Miji smiled. "I'm gonna stay here until we either figure out how to get her out of this cage, or Akito-sama chases me off..."

Yuki looked at Hatori. "And you?"

"I will do what I can to subside Akito-sama's anger... If he wishes to go on a rampage..." he muttered as he looked over at Kisa, who was now sleeping silently, leaning against the cage and still weakly holding Momiji's hand.

Yuki smiled softly, and nodded, walking back outside, and into the daylight, followed by about a half dozen rats. He turned and headed towards the park, walking swiftly.

Meanwhile... Miji just stood, leaning lightly on the cage, still keeping a grip on Kisa's hand, humming his song softly, and staring out at nothingness against the far wall. "I wish I had someone female and not related to me here to hug me. If I was a rabbit, I could get through the bars of the cage..." he thought, whispering only to himself in the now deserted hallway. He went back to humming his song, idly passing the time.

So far, no luck, Yuki sighed disgustedly. He sat down on a bench, and rested his face in his hands. Just then, a rat ran up to him and told him it had found something. Following the small gray creature he found a dark red, button-down shirt lying on the grass in a mostly wooded part of the park. He called the rats back, and they all searched out from that area. Finally, one led him to the rest of the clothes behind a nearby bush. Another rat scurried out from under it, and told him it had found the weirdest little fluffy creature under there. Yuki smiled, almost grinning. He pulled back the bush, and sure enough, covered in dirt and leaves was a small brown and white sheep.

Kisa slept silently. In the corners of her eyes, formed new tears. Waking up, she gripped Momiji's hand a little tighter and looked at him with half open eyes. "M-Momiji-kun... I don't want to be here..." she muttered softly.

Hatori looked over in silence and sighed softly. Frustrated again, he began to pace, trying not to show his worry. Bumping into someone, he looked down and saw Akito standing there, glaring at him. "Akito-sama..." he said in an honored voice as he bowed his head in respect. Akito shoved her way past him and noticed Momiji lying there.

"I know Kisa-chan no one does..." he said back softly. Upon hearing the footsteps, though, he looked up to see Akito standing there. He immediately dropped Kisa's hand, and backed away slowly. "Akito-sama! I erm... I'm sorry..." He backed away, his head bowed low, and apologizing profusely. He had learned how to deal with Akito a long time ago. "I didn't mean to... I'm really really sorry... she was a little lonely... I'll not come back if you don't want me to..." He was lying, and he told Kisa that with a very apologetic look.

Meanwhile...

Yuki jogged back towards the main Sohma house, if his luck was good, Akito wouldn't be there, and he could hand Hiro off to Momiji. He walked quietly into the corridor, Hiro in his arms like a fluffy stuffed animal. He looked cautiously around the corner, only to find in horror, Akito standing there. He cursed without sound, and hid around the corner, knowing Akito was too focused on Momiji to have seen him. He slumped silently against the wall. If he had any luck left, Hiro would not change back to his human form while they were standing there.

Kisa bowed her head politely to Akito and Akito just replied with a glare. "You are not to visit her again... No one will visit her from now on..." she growled angrily. "That is her punishment... To be simply forgotten."

Yuki gasped silently in horror, and looked back to his arms, hoping that Hiro was still sleeping. The good news was that Hiro wasn't going to transform back, the bad news was that Hiro wasn't asleep and had heard the whole thing. Yuki held on tighter as he felt the little sheep start to squirm pathetically in his arms. He was at a loss for words.

Momiji backed up, still staring at the floor. This time he was trying not to cry, and he had to try several times before he could answer. He nodded slightly, and his voice came out choked. "As you wish Akito-sama." He turned and strode down the hallway and towards the outside. As he walked past Yuki, he motioned for the older boy to follow him outside.

Yuki followed, still holding Hiro in his arms. When they were a safe distance away, Momiji tilted his head back and began crying.

"What is wrong with him? All this because the two of them are in love! This isn't fair, Yuki!" He whined, walking and making violent hand gestures. Yuki sighed.

"I don't like this any more than you do... but Akito-sama's word is the law..." he spat out the last word as if it tasted bad. Momiji calmed, and looked up at Yuki, unused to the older boy losing his temper so easily. "Let's just go back to Shigure's house... and... I'll talk to him. He's good with dealing with Akito..." He paused. "Momiji, don't tell anyone about this that it would affect profoundly... like Haru and Tohru, understand?"

The rabbit sniffled and nodded.

Kisa watched Akito in silence and closed her eyes, not willing to look at her face. Akito grinned and looked at Hatori, who excused himself and walked away silently. Akito walked up to the edge of Kisa's new home and continued to have that same smile. "You will never see them again... They have left you..." she muttered as she laughed and turned away, walking down the hall.

Kisa stood there, trembling slightly. What had she done? Her head bowed fully and she fell backwards onto the floor of her cell. She had given up already, for Akito's word was law... and she would never see them again. Shaking her head, she tried to rid herself of the thoughts and pulled her knees to her small chest, breaking out into a fit of tears.

And so she lay there, crying with no one to come to her aide… at least not for a little while. Her sadness forced her to transform into her tiger form, as she had so long ago. And there she laid... a small orange tiger surrounded by clothes.


	2. Chapter 2

1

Chapter 2

Yuki and Momiji arrived at Shigure's house just as dinner was wrapping up. Shigure saw the two of them, no surprise, but what he saw in Yuki's arms was. "Oh?"

Yuki shook his head softly. "It's not what you think..."

Tohru smiled at him. "Welcome home Momiji-kun, Yuki-kun!"

Miji returned the best smile he could. Somewhere along the route home, he had been stuck with carrying Hiro's clothes. Not that he minded.

Tohru, absent as she was, didn't catch that something was really amiss until she looked at Yuki. "Yuki? What's wrong? Something go wrong with the Student Council today?"

Yuki smiled and nodded slightly. "It's nothing that can't be fixed, don't worry."

Tohru then looked at the sheep in his arms. "Is that Hiro-kun? Why is he like that?"

Miji answered this time. "I was with him, we were coming back here from the park, and a little girl bolted into our path and collided with him. Don't worry, she just said sorry and kept running!" Momiji smiled again, almost laughing, but not finding the energy to. Tohru believed it, but Shigure didn't.

Yuki nodded. "Shigure, we need to talk..."

Shigure nodded and led them into the study. "Tohru? Would you be a dear and make some tea?" Shigure asked politely as Tohru nodded and left. Closing the study doors, a serious face came to him. "Explain..." he told Yuki.

Kyo was watching the group in silence, but he was somewhat curious, though it didn't show in his face. Walking to the door, he stood next to it, listening in on the conversation.

Yuki sighed and brushed the last remaining traces of dirt off his shirt, he had left Hiro with Momiji, best that the kid not have to hear what he already knew. He took a deep breath, enough stalling. "Akito-sama has Kisa. Apparently, according to Momiji, Akito-sama caught Hiro and Kisa together... He took Kisa and locked her in the cage." Yuki turned back to the door, sighing softly. "He said that her punishment... is to be forgotten."

Kyo closed his eyes only a fraction as he thought of Akito doing that to Kisa. Sighing, he tried to remain calm, but his fists were already being clenched.

Shigure did not take this news well. "Akito-sama... So there is no way around it?" he asked as he looked up at Yuki and took a thinking pose.

"We..." Yuki placed a hand on his forehead, and sat down. "Akito-sama was very mad. Hatori-san is already doing what he can to calm him down. I don't know what we can do, I thought you might have an idea." He sighed, a bit of a shudder to the sigh. "I'm really worried about her... but I'm almost worried about Hiro more. He's in sheep form as you saw... I don't know if we'll ever be able to get him out of it if Kisa stays there for too long... he seems..."

Yuki coughed quietly, trying to keep any more sadness from leaking into his voice. "I don't think Akito realizes what he has done. Too many people like Kisa for her... disappearance to remain a secret for too long. And if Haru were to ever find out about it... I worry about him, too."

"If Haru found out... he'd go black.." Kyo muttered out loud and clasped his hands around his mouth. What have I done! he thought.

"Ahhh.. Kyo... so you've decided to come out of hiding?" asked Shigure in his know it all voice. But then he got serious again. "The only way to change Akito's mind would be for a group meeting with him, and try to persuade him. But... if he doesn't like it... Kisa will be in more danger than if she were calling Akito stupid..." he mumbled.

Yuki sighed, a little out of annoyance at Kyo, but more out of the thought of the worse punishment. "Can we afford to do that, Shigure? What will happen to Kisa if that goes badly... and what will happen to Hiro? He's already broken, that might... I don't want to think of what that will do to his heart..." He sighed. "What am I saying...? If something like that happens we might lose them both. That would make for a lot of displeased Sohmas with no power to do anything whatsoever."

"I am unsure... If Kisa were to get into more trouble than she is now... there may be a chance that we will loose her... But I wonder if Akito would kill her? He has the power... but... hmmm..." Shigure mumbled, deep in thought. "Something must be done about this soon. Or Kisa will give up all hope... and so will Hiro..."

Yuki sat back, and folded his arms, thinking. "But what can we do? That's so difficult to answer..." A moment passed before... "The only thing I can come up with... is to get Akito so angry at someone else that he just throws them in there and forgets all about Kisa... lets her out by default... but that'll never happen. Got anything cat?"

"Why are you asking me? You stupid rat!" Kyo growled as he crossed his arms and mumbled worthless things, "Akito's got a personality of his own.. There's no way he's going to just let her pass. You'll have to fight..." he grumbled, which sent Shigure soaring into a fit of laughter.

Yuki chuckled as well, despite the circumstances. That was just too funny. "You stupid cat... we can't fight Akito... if he gets hurt and dies, that's it for the rest of us. Poof! And we're gone. That would... be worse." he laughed. "If we're going down that road, cat, why don't we just lock Akito in the cage and make him have a taste of his own medicine?"

"Why not?" asked Kyo as Shigure soon continued to throw himself into spontaneous combustions of laugher. Kyo quickly charged into the room and raised his fist, but Shigure gave him a serious glare and Kyo ran back to his hiding place.

Yuki shook his head. "I didn't think so... but... what can we do?"

Momiji, sitting out in the living room, the sheep that is Hiro in his lap, heard the laughing, and wondered what they were talking about. He stood up, lightly placing Hiro on the cushion in his place, and walked silently towards the study, listening from just in earshot. As he passed Tohru, he smiled, and pressed a finger to his lips. She just watched him go, utterly and completely confused.

"I don't want to run the risk of the punishment getting any worse. From what I heard, Hiro's already on Akito's bad side as well..."

Shigure sighed in the Shigure way. "Hmm... you have a point... but what should happen if we do somehow get her out is beyond me..." he mumbled as he held head up his head in his palm. "What to do.. what to do..." he mumbled.

Yuki looked at a nearby clock, and sighed. "I don't think we can do much more tonight..." he pointed at the clock. "It's getting late... maybe we should sleep on this and come back in the morning... Now we need someone to take Hiro in for the ni-"

He was interrupted by Momiji walking, hand raised. "I'll look after Hii-kun tonight!" he announced proudly.

Yuki looked at him oddly. "How long were you listening, Momiji?"

Miji looked confused for a moment. "Not long at all..."

Yuki sighed, and shrugged. "It's a good idea. Maybe we should call over Hatori-san tomorrow, he's a good thinker."

Shigure looked down at the floor, in deep thought as he nodded. Poor Kisa... I wonder how she's doing... he thought, as he looked up towards the ceiling, still in deep thought.

Tohru stood there silently at the entrance of the study with the tea in her arms. "H-Here's some tea.." she mumbled as she looked towards the others, a slight sweat drop forming on the back of her head.

Yuki smiled graciously, and accepted the tea, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

"Thank you, Tohru," Yuki said softly, sipping at the tea. He finished it quickly, which was odd for him, and headed out of the room. "I'm going to retire for the night." He looked over at Momiji disapprovingly. "You should as well..."

Momiji nodded, and almost spilled his tea. He took another sip, and walked out into the living room. He set the tea on the table, and picked up Hiro. "Well... I'm going to bed for the night! Hii-kun can stay with me!"

He hurried up the stairs, trying to play off as being happy seemed to be harder now, and much more tiring.

Shigure sighed and also retired, and Tohru went to clean the dishes and get ready for bed as well. Kyo had already escaped to the roof.

…………………

Elsewhere... Kisa slowly opened her eyes, the redness from them due to her tears. Letting out a small cry of loneliness, Kisa closed her eyes. Haa-san... Onee-chan... Yuki-kun... Kyo-kun... Momiji-kun... Gure-san... Kureno-san... Hiro-kun... she thought as she listed off all of the Sohmas in no specific order. Tears swelled up in her eyes again as she slowly drifted to sleep, though sleep did not seem to welcome her with open arms.

Momiji set Hiro on the futon next to him, and covered them both with a blanket. "Don't worry, Hii-kun... we'll fix this. Akito-sama can't be pouting for that long..." his last words were mumbled as he fell into a fitful, uneasy sleep.

Yuki couldn't sleep, try as he might, every time he closed his eyes, his mind would flash back to the time he spent in the cage. This was not going to be an easy night... no... this was not going to be an easy period of time…


	3. Chapter 3

1Chapter 3

A noise in the middle of the night awoke Momiji, and thinking it was the house settling he mumbled something, and went back to sleep, patting Hiro gently on the back. Until his still sleepy mind determined that what he was patting wasn't wool... he looked over, only to find the space next to him unoccupied. "Hii-kun?" he sat up quickly, face turning into panic, as he threw back the covers. "Hii-kun!" He looked around the room, until he noticed the bedroom door was open. He stood up quickly, and bolted to the door, throwing it open. "HII-KUN!" He called into the hallway, no answer.

He ran down the stairs, making oddly little noise for someone in such a hurry, and found the back door of the house to be open. He opened it and stuck his head out. "Hii-kun! Hiro!"

He turned around, and looked into the house. "EVERYONE WAKE UP! HIRO'S GONE!" he yelled, glad for his high pitched and loud voice. "HII-KUN!"

Shigure got up in a slight panic and rushed out of his room, half awake. Tohru had fallen off her bed due to the high-pitched scream and she slowly sat up, looking around.

"Ugh... What's happening!" asked Kyo, who had nearly fallen off of the roof and had swung in through Tohru's window.

Yuki was the first down the stairs as he wasn't asleep anyway. He leapt off the last two stairs, and ran up to Momiji, who was looking around in a bit of a panic, tears in the corners of his eyes. "Momiji! What's wrong?"

Miji looked up at him, sniffling, and looking pathetic. "I-I said I'd take care of him... but something woke me up and... he's gone... Hii-kun's gone... I can't find him anywhere... the back door's open, I think he left..."

Yuki kneeled down and grabbed Momiji's shoulders. "Calm down, it's not your fault... I should've seen this coming."

He stood up, and looked at the other sleepy members of the household. "Hiro is gone. We don't know where he is, and it would appear that he's not in this house."

Momiji nodded, the tears running down his face. "And I said I'd watch him too..."

Meanwhile...

It was cold... that's all he knew. It was as cold outside as it was inside, and he didn't know why. The street before him kept flashing in and out of focus, and perceptive. One minute he'd be looking at it from a distance in the air, and the next he'd be right down next to it. He didn't know why he was wandering like this. Everything was a cloud in his mind. All he knew was that he must see her again... a flash of orange in the endless gray... yes...

To the outside observer, one would see a small lamb walking down the street, however, every so often a cloud of smoke would envelop it, and a young boy would be standing there in its place, completely naked. But it wasn't that he was naked that got your attention. It was that his eyes held a kind of sadness that no little boy's should

Shigure walked over to Yuki and whispered sleepily into his ear. "Perhaps he's gone to see Kisa?" he informed his question upon Yuki.

………………..

Kisa laid there, curled up into a small ball. Hatori stood but a couple yards away from the door to the cage, watching her with his strange eyes. Closing them, he released a sigh and walked away again.

…………………..

Yuki nodded. "I think that would be the most logical place for him to go... now how do we tell them this... ah! I've got it!"

He turned back to the group of sleepy people gathered in the room. "Alright, we're going to have to split up and look for him. Kyo and Momiji... I want you to do a widespread search of the area near the house, leave no stone unturned. Use your ability to communicate with animals to your advantage," He looked at Tohru. "Tohru, you stay here, and wait in case he comes back here..." He looked at Shigure. "Shigure-san and I will check the Sohma main house in case he went there."

Momiji raised his hand in protest, but Yuki cut him off, shaking his head softly. "Sound like a good plan?"

"I still don't get why I have to look for that damned sheep... Smart ass..." he grumbled as he received a glare from Shigure and backed off the topic slightly. Together they said Yes and looked around, calling out. Kyo sighed, and continued to grumble but pitched in, yelling several rude comments, wondering if the sheep would follow his voice in anger.

Yuki trotted quickly along the path, and finally out onto the way that would lead them to the main house, using his physical fitness to his advantage. "The only thing we can hope is that we get there before Akito-sama finds him. If Akito gets Hiro alone with the way he is... I don't want to think about it..."

That door looked familiar... yes, it was the family's main residence. He saw the ground suddenly get far away from him again, and he reached a hand out, pushing open the door. He stumbled as he walked in, and was a sheep before he hit the ground. He wandered in towards the place he knew she was at, his hooves making oddly little noise on the tatami mat. "Kisa..." he turned a corner, and saw a flash of orange. He was there...

The orange fur that ran from her face to her chin was matted and wet from all the tears. Her small ears twitched only slightly at the sound of Hiro's hooves and she slowly turned her head towards the door of the cage, her eyes droopy and sad looking. "H-Hiro…k-kun?" she asked weakly as she got up and flopped over onto her other side.

……………..

"Indeed..." Shigure uttered simply.

Yuki rounded another corner, almost going into a flat-out sprint. He had a really bad feeling about this. "Please... Akito... be a sound sleeper..."

"Kisa..." Hiro muttered softly, sleepily, walking quickly towards the cage. "I'm sorry... I couldn't... protect you again..."

"H-Hiro-kun..." she muttered softly as she crawled over to the cage entrance and did her best to squeeze her maw through a crack, to where only that part of her was reachable. "I-I'm sorry..." she muttered as tears began to form in her eyes again.

"What are you sorry for? I'm the one who did something stupid... I'm the one who told Akito in the first place..." he said softly, walking up to the part of the cage where she had her mouth. His face was a little narrower and easier to squeeze in-between the bars but not really. Their noses were almost touching...

He shook his head and snorted, backing up. "I'm a ram, right? I should... I should be able to bend the bars or something... break the lock..." He reared up and charged at the cage.

His vision exploded into white, which dissolved into multi-colored stars, and the only reward was a hollow Thunk! And a slight rattle out of the door of the cage. He could feel wetness atop of his head, but he didn't care, he lowered his head, and pawed the ground lightly, ready for another charge...

Yuki found the door to the main house open enough for a person to walk through. He nodded at Shigure, and stepped through, going as fast as he dare without making too much noise, which was easy for him... quiet as a mouse...

Momiji tapped Kyo on the shoulder and shook his head. "We should go back to Gure-san's house... we won't find him out here hiding. He went back to the main residence, I'm sure of it."

"P-Please Hiro-kun... Don't... You'll hurt yourself..." she muttered softly in a begging way as she began to claw at the hole, trying to make it bigger.

…………….

Kyo rolled his eyes. "You shoulda told me in the first place..." he growled slightly as he thunked Miji on top of the head lightly and put his hands in his pockets, walking back towards Shigure's house.

…………………

Shigure had a struggled keeping up with Yuki and stopped several times to keel over.

Hiro collapsed against the cage, panting hard, head swimming. There were several fine trails of blood running down the sides of his head. "I have to... have to... get you out..."

He backed up once more, and was getting ready for another charge, when someone picked him up.

"What... what do you think you're doing!" he asked, spinning around and looking his captor straight in the eyes. From the swimming purple in his vision, he could tell it was Yuki.

Yuki sighed, and looked Hiro over. There was blood crowning the top of his head, dying the soft wool bright red, and making it stiff. Yuki shook his head. "Look... we're figuring out a way to get her out..." he whispered gently. "Please... Hiro... have patience..."

The little ram looked up at him inquisitively before passing out, whether from blood loss or just from hitting his head so many times, no one knew. Yuki cradled the little sheep to his chest, and turned to Kisa. "We'll be back, don't worry..."

He ran back out of the room, padding quietly back towards the entrance.

"I didn't tell you earlier because if we gave up our search early, Tohru might figure something out..." Momiji said quietly, opening the door. Tohru was asleep in front of the door, curled up in a fetal position. Momiji nudged her gently. "It looks like Hii-kun went back to the main residence..." he smiled as he said it, looking relieved.

Tohru rubbed her eyes slightly and yawned. "O-Oh... at least he's not out on the streets begging for mercy from a robber!" She exclaimed as she began to exaggerate things.

Kyo rolled his eyes and yawned softly. "Well... I'm out..." he grumbled as he left.

……………

Shigure sweat dropped when Yuki was already on his way back, holding an unconscious Hiro. "Did Akito..?" he asked.

……………

Kisa sighed softly as Hiro's pain was prolonged and she continued to lay by the door, just a little more cheerful that she had been able to see Hiro one last time... if it was her last time...

Yuki shook his head as he walked quickly out of the door. "No... the little idiot was trying to ram the door open to the cage... with his head."

He headed back out, and began to walk quickly back towards Shigure's house, wanting to get away from that hellhole as quickly as possible.

Miji laughed. "No... he's probably just a little homesick, or something... he'll be back though..." he said, a large sweat drop on his head as he said it to Tohru with a smile.

"Speaking of homesick... I've been wondering... have you seen Kisa around lately? She said she was going to visit yesterday... but I haven't seen her since..." she muttered as she looked at Momiji with slight concern on her face.

…………………

Shigure sighed in relief and looked at Hiro in silence. "He should have that looked at by Hari..." Shigure insisted, since they were in the area anyways.

"Yes... he should..." came Hari's voice as he stood right behind the two.

If Yuki had been a more nervous person, he would've jumped out of his skin. Instead he paused awkwardly, and turned around. "Ah... good... night, Hatori-san," he said pleasantly, sweat dropping badly.

Miji flailed his arms about as he looked for a good explanation. "Oh erm... she probably... got stuck doing a project or something... you know how big a step it is from elementary to middle school!" he laughed and rubbed the back of his head, sweat dropping badly there as well. He was really bad at lying.

"She could always ask me!" Tohru said with a smile as she sighed slightly. "I'll give her a call sometime... and we can set up a day to ermm... Emmm... ehhhhhhhh..." she muttered as she couldn't think of anything to say.

Hatori stood there in silence and took Hiro from Yuki's arms. "Only a small concussion from the looks of it..." he murmured as he pulled bandages out of a spare pocket in his coat and wrapped it around Hiro's head. "If it gets any worse... call me and I'll come over as soon as I can..." he instructed them as Shigure just started to calm down from the surprise. "You're out of shape..." he told Shigure as a large sweat dropped formed on the back of Gure's head.

Yuki couldn't help but stifle a chuckle behind his hand. He took back the little sheep, and held it close to him. "We're going to need you over there tomorrow anyway... we need to come up with a plan to... FIX this..."

Miji was trying to think of a way to deter Tohru from calling Kisa's house, and couldn't. "Um... why don't we think up something fun we can do, and call her then?" Miji, helped Tohru up, and started guiding her towards the bedrooms. "But for right now... let's just get some sleep, huh?"

Yawning softly, Tohru nodded and went back into her room. "Good night Momiji-kun..." she mumbled as she waved to him and wandered over to her bed, plopping down exhaustedly.

………………..

Hatori nodded and saw them off quietly, careful not to do anything to wake Akito up from her slumber.

Yuki sighed hard when they were far enough away from the main house to not be in danger anymore. "That... was stupid..." he scolded softly, looking down at the soft fluffy creature in his arms. "It hurts... I know... it's almost worse being outside a cage looking in than on the inside looking out..."

He walked in silence the rest of the way back to Shigure's house, mind buried deep in his thoughts.

Shigure sighed as he watched Hiro closely, and was soon bombarded by Tohru's testifying questions. "What happened? Why is Hiro bleeding?" and what not. Shigure only sweat dropped and looked towards Yuki to explain it.

Yuki sweat dropped as well, looking down at Hiro. "He... was tired and he ran into a wall... don't worry abou-"

"I am not tired... and I didn't run into any damn wall..." interrupted a voice from somewhere. Yuki's sweat drop grew eve larger as the sheep in his arms shifted, and looked at Tohru. "I went to go see Kisa in the-"

"Her room!" Momiji said, interrupting Hiro with his loud voice. Momiji walked out of what appeared to be the kitchen area chewing on, what else, a carrot. "Hiro! You know it's bad to sneak out of the house, and to go try and see her like that, bad!"

If Hiro had been in a better mood, and not a sheep, he would've been blushing brightly.

Tohru laughed softly. "Then... daijobu ka?" she asked as she watched Hiro closely.

"No, I'm not alright!" Hiro said loudly, tears staining his voice, but not appearing in his eyes. There was a poof, and he stood there in human form, glaring angrily at Tohru. Yuki backed away quickly, and motioned for Momiji to go get Hiro's clothes.

"If I was alright, then Kisa'd be here with me, but no! She's not! She- mmf!" he was cut off this time by Yuki's hand clamping firmly on his mouth.

"Hiro-kun, you're tired. We should all get back to bed," Yuki announced, feigning happiness. "And if you can't stay put, I'll put you up on the roof with that cat, you understand me?"

Hiro merely nodded, walked past Momiji, snatched his clothes violently from the rabbit's arms, and headed towards the bedrooms. There was a big sweat drop out of Yuki and Miji.

Tohru and Shigure stood there in complete silence. "Goodnight Hiro-kun..." Tohru muttered as she bowed her head.

Shigure gave a strange glance towards Yuki and sighed softly. Something had to be done about Hiro and Kisa soon...

Miji smiled, and tilted his head. "At least he's not depressed anymore!"

Yuki shook his head. "Oh he is still alright, but he's covering it up with anger. I don't know which one is going to end up being worse for him."

Miji smiled, and waved at Tohru. "Well, I'm off to bed as well. This time I'll make sure Hii-kun doesn't wander off again."

Yuki sighed. "There's not much time left in the night. He won't." He looked at Shigure. "Tomorrow, then?"

Shigure nodded in agreement and looked over at Tohru, who had a dazed look on her face. "Ahh.. Tohru Maybe you should get some sleep?" Shigure asked, and Tohru looked over at him with a smile.

"Good night Shigure-san and Yuki-kun..." she told them as she bowed once again and walked backwards towards her room.

Yuki went back into his room; pausing by the door of the room Momiji and Hiro were staying in. He could hear them talking, but he had caught the conversation in the middle.

"What does it matter? We're never gonna get her out. Akito's too vengeful for that to happen. He's worse than the damn curse."

"Aww, come on Hii-kun, we can't stop hoping so soon! That would ruin it! She'll be back with us in no time!"

"Easy for you to say... you're not in love with her! You didn't see how hopeless it is to try and persuade Akito!"

"I saw enough of it, Hii-kun! There's still a chance, there's always a chance. And I do love her, Hii-kun. No, it's not the way you do, I love her as a friend, and as my little cousin! And she's your cousin, too!"

Yuki's eyebrows raised in surprise. Momiji was sure acting weird. Though he couldn't blame him. Tensions were high in the Sohma family at this point, and tension can make anyone act weird. He sighed and walked into his room, the house now oddly quiet. He might finally get some sleep.

Kisa awoke yet again, but the rays of the sun were only slightly seeping into the cage.

Most of the sun seemed to shine on her only, making her fur reflect. Yawning softly, she rested her head on her paws and waited there quietly.

Tohru was still in a deep sleep, and Shigure was back in his study, ranting about something on the phone.

Yuki woke up when a stray beam of sunlight settled on his eyes, and wouldn't go away. He sat up, hardly realizing he had fallen asleep in his clothes. He walked out, and downstairs, stretching quietly.

Momiji was already sitting down there, sipping a small cup of tea and staring at the wall.

"Momiji... where's Hiro?" Yuki asked softly. Momiji seemed to snap out of it, and looked back at Yuki.

"Oh, don't worry Yuki-kun. He's in the bathroom. He just went in there in fact," Momiji answered happily, if a little tired.

Yuki smiled sympathetically. "You didn't get much sleep, did you?"

Momiji grinned. "Nope!"

Hiro stared at himself in the mirror, slowly pulling the bandages off from around his head. Once again, Hatori had wrapped them much too tightly. He lowered his head to look at the injury. It was a nice cut all right, and the hair around it was discolored with crimson blood.

Damn it... he still couldn't get her out... ram or no...

He slammed his hand on the counter, and only ended up hurting it. He winced and flexed his hand before rearranging the bandages (not sloppily, but not too neat either) back on his head, and walking back out into the living room, where he plopped down by the table, and laid his head on his arms.

Tohru finally managed to wake up and glance around. Looking at her clock, she leapt off of her bed and hurried downstairs in her nightgown, and began to cook breakfast.

Kyo was up on top of the roof as usual... in fact... he slept there... yawning brilliantly, he hopped down and came inside to the smell of breakfast.

Momiji called to Tohru in the kitchen. "So, what's cookin'?"

Yuki just sat at the table in quiet contemplation, also sipping some tea.

And Hiro was still sitting with his head on the table, but now his arms draped to the sides limply.

"Ahhhh... well... erm..." muttered Tohru nervously.

Kyo lightly placed his balled fist on top of her head. "So... this means you don't even have any idea of what you are cooking?" he asked as he looked into the empty pot.

A large sweat drop formed beside her head and she shook it from side to side. "What would you guys like?" she asked, looking to the four males near the room.

Momiji grinned. "Everything you cook tastes great! I'll take anything!"

Yuki was lost in contemplation, until he realized he had been asked a question. "Oh, I don't know, Tohru-kun. I think anything at all."

"I'm not hungry..." Hiro muttered softly, and got up to leave the room.

Momiji started up after him, but Yuki held a hand out. "No, don't. He won't go back to the main house right now. He already knows that there's no way in or out of that cage without a key."

Hiro walked outside, and into the forest surrounding Shigure's house. He just walked aimlessly, not really heading for anywhere in particular. He was lost... and more so... he was angry that he couldn't do anything.

Tohru stood there in silence and muttered something about pancakes. So she made pancakes! and she tried the best that she could to make them shaped like the zodiac animals. Taking a plate over to the table, she set it down. "Breakfast is served!"

Kisa lay there in the cage. "I wonder what Hiro is doing..." she muttered as she looked around in silence. A couple moments later, one of the servants walked in, carrying a tray of food. Setting it down in front of Kisa, the woman left almost as if she was in a hurry. Kisa stared at the food and rejected it, turning her head the other way.

Momiji looked down at the odd blob of pancake and sweat dropped slightly. "What a cute rabbit!" he said, a little unsure if that was what it really was.

Yuki also sweat dropped slightly. His pancakes looked like two blobs with a misshapen third oval blob coming out of the back end. He merely smiled and thanked her before eating.

Hiro stopped in the shadow of an odd cliff that looked like the middle of it had dropped out due to a mudslide or something. He looked around, the small cliff would make a great place to sit and look at things.

He looked at one of the solid edges and scaled it easily, not even missing a foothold. There were some times he was glad his zodiac was a 'ram'. He watched the small forest in the morning light and smiled, the first time he had in a while it seemed. If... no... when they got Kisa out, he would have to take her here.

Kisa's stomach made a loud rumbling noise, but she tried to resist all temptations of being drawn towards the food. Closing her eyes, a small breeze floated by and with a loud poofing noise, she transformed back into herself and sat there on her knees, staring out into the distance of her cage. Closing her eyes again, the breeze ruffled her hair and she looked towards the food, rejecting it again.

……………….

In no less and no more than a half hour, Hatori stood at the door in silence. Tohru opened the door and jumped slightly as she saw Hatori just standing there with a blank look. "H-H-Hatori-san.." she muttered as she stepped away from the door and allowed Hatori inside, who was soon ambushed by Shigure, pulling him inside the study.

Yuki motioned for Momiji to stay put, and walked past, knocking lightly on the door to the study. "Shigure-san, you want me to join on this conversation, or should I hold down the fort?"

"Ahh... Yuki... you may come in..." answered Shigure's voice.

There they sat in utter silence, thinking of a plan.

"The only reassuring way is to beg Akito himself... I do not see any other way..." muttered Hatori.

Yuki walked in quietly, and shut the door behind him. Momiji, in standard fashion, walked up to the door and started listening. He wanted to know too.

"You're right..." Yuki admitted softly. "The only way to get her out is to beg Akito-san. But... we need to think up some sort of Plan B in case Plan A doesn't work... or in case Plan A makes matters worse..."

Momiji, sitting outside, put his hand on his chin and thought carefully. If I was a meaner person, I'd say plan B was Black Haru... but... I'm not.

Yuki sighed. "I would normally say this is more complicated than it's worth... but nothing is worth more than her right now..."

Hiro jumped down the cliff, leaping nimbly from tiny ledge to tiny ledge. The bottom one gave out under his weight, and he slid down the hill like a surfer until he reached the bottom. He walked back towards Shigure's house, a light smile playing on his lips, but his eyes not holding any feeling at all. Yes... he would have to show this to Kisa... she'd love it.

Kisa had a visitor today. Akito...

"Why won't you eat, Kisa..." she taunted as she spat the last word with hatred. Kisa was afraid. If she answered, she may get hurt... If she didn't answer... she may get hurt... There was a mental struggle for a while until she managed to speak.

"I-I'm not hungry Akito-sama..." she muttered.

Akito smiled a smile that could only be brought through the pleasure of seeing someone get hurt.

Shigure and Hatori both released "Hmmm..."'s and sat there, pondering another plan.

There was a knock at the door, and Miji jumped, just a little, not even making a noise. He got up noiselessly to go with Tohru and answer it, they were still thinking in the study, anyway.

He heard the door open, and a familiar voice came into his ears. He froze, like a rabbit caught in the sight of a fox. Oh no no no no nooo... he'll... oh if _he_ finds out about this...


	4. Chapter 4

I just wanted to say how thankful I am that you like the story. Thank you for reading and I will try to have my beta's keep working on Betaing this. If anyone would Wish to help in betaing, I would love some help. As you have noticed, I have inclined myself to calling Akito a she. Because… well… she is a she… 

I do not own any of the Fruits Basket characters, though I wish I could .'''

Chapter 4 

Tohru cautiously opened the door. "Hatsu-kun... Good to see you..?" she asked as she looked at him strangely and then back to Momiji. For some odd reason she began to feel as if she was being left out of something important, but it was not right to meddle into other people's business; therefore, she decided not to ask.

Hatori and Shigure both looked up when they heard Haru's name, their faces stern with fear. Quickly realizing the strange looks they were giving towards the door, Shigure returned to his smiling self and Hatori just remained basically the same.

Yuki froze as well, stiffening up. As if matters weren't already complicated...

Momiji recovered himself and smiled. "Hello Haru-kun what brings you here?"

Hiro walked through the door, the smile playing on his face still, until he heard the name Haru. His face fell into one a little angrier.

Haru stepped through the door, and nodded at Momiji. "I just dropped by to see if any of you guys have seen Kisa...?" he questioned, scanning their faces with his blank eyes.

Momiji sweat dropped hugely. "Oh... Kisa? No, I haven't seen her lately..."

Hiro turned his head away at Haru's mention of Kisa. He had always been jealous of the sibling-like relationship between Kisa and Haru.

And Haru did notice the immediate change in Hiro. "Hiro-kun looks like he knows something..."

Momiji sweat dropped again, and stepped into Haru's line of vision. "Oh... don't worry about Hii-kun... he's just not feeling very well lately. He hit his head earlier..."

Tohru looked around, seemingly confused as usual.

Haru raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Momiji was acting weird and oddly panicked, and Hiro had yet to make one smart-ass comment to him. Something seemed to be up... He looked around. "Where's Yuki and Shigure-san?"

Momiji copied Hiro. "I think they were in the study..." Realizing the words that had seemed to spring out of his mouth, he jumped slightly.

Yuki sighed and stood up. "I sometimes wish we weren't so closely connected with Akito-san. This would be the only time in my life where I would be glad to see Black Haru. He'd get something done about this... quickly and efficiently..."

Yuki walked out into the living room and smiled at Haru. "Good morning, Haru-kun. What brings you here?"

Haru looked at him. "Have you seen Kisa anywhere. I haven't seen her at all in the main house."

Hiro, sitting at the table the way he had been earlier, had his arms crossed and his head was buried in them while he muttered quietly... "Have you checked the Cage, you dumb ox?"

Yuki shrugged and smiled slightly. "We don't know where she is. We're actually kind of surprised she hasn't visited us lately. We haven't seen her for a while..."

This time, Haru did catch on to Yuki's unease. If there was someone who almost never lost composure, it was Yuki. Haru leaned back and crossed his arms. "Alright, something's wrong. Hiro's not being a smart-ass, Momiji's far too calm and not always grinning, and you, Yuki seemed to have slipped on your composure."

Momiji sweat dropped; Hiro grumbled again; and Yuki looked a little shocked, silently wishing for Shigure's help.

Shigure suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a hand on top of Haru's shoulder. "I'm afraid there's a bit of a sickness floating around in this atmosphere." he said in a cheery voice as he looked towards Yuki and winked secretly as if knowing he could handle this situation.

Yuki almost sighed in relief. "Yeah, there's an illness, so we're trying to keep it isolated to this house instead of spreading it to everyone..."

Momiji nodded reverently in agreement.

Hiro sighed and walked back towards the bedrooms. He didn't want nor need more sleep, he just wanted to get away from everyone.

Haru watched Hiro go carefully. "I see, so the illness is causing this for you all..." he looked back at Yuki. "But illnesses don't make you depressed. What's wrong with him...? Relationship problems...?"

Momiji smiled. "You could say that..."

Yuki looked at him, eye twitching slightly, and Miji's mouth snapped shut. He excused himself and darted out of the room towards the bathroom, not really needing to go, but wanting not to say anything too incriminating.

Haru's mind clicked. "There's only one thing that has ever made Hiro act like that before. Did something happen to Kisa?" his voice was very stern.

Yuki managed another massive sweat drop and looked at Shigure pleadingly.

(You must excuse this next part... I thought I would just throw it in…)"Hmmm... Maybe she's got her monthly?" Shigure asked as he made a ridiculously stupid/perverted face. From inside the study, Hatori sweat dropped and Kyo, who was nowhere to be seen as of now, seemed to become sick. Shortly after, he returned, sickened look on his face.

Yuki placed a hand on his forehead, and shook his wrist, head moving along with the movement flowingly.

From the hallway outside the bathroom, Momiji made an oddly disgusted face and sweat dropped.

Hiro, reaching the door, bristled angrily, and yelled back down the hall. "I WISH IT WAS THAT EASY!"

Haru definitely didn't buy it, and the comment from Hiro didn't make it any better. "Maybe I should ask Hiro-kun. He seems to know something more than you do..."

Yuki shook his head. "It's nothing bad, Haru. Just go back home. We're trying to deal with something here..."

Haru snorted, and shook his head repeatedly. "I don't think so... I'm going to go talk to Hiro..."

Yuki stepped in front of him, and stopped him. "Haru, no." he insisted, in an almost wary voice.

Haru looked around at everyone, and made a very displeased face. "I want to know what it is."

Shigure sighed softly, looking at Yuki. "He has a right to know..." Hatori said from behind Shigure as he stood there. Shigure and Kyo seemed to sweat drop horribly.

Yuki's eyes went wide in surprise. Ok, so they were going to tell him... but who would be the unlucky victim... err, messenger?

He looked around. Momiji shook his head violently and backed up. Neither Kyo nor Shigure seemed to be of any help. And then.

"She's in the Cage, dummy. Did you ever think of looking in Akito-san's personal torture room?" said a familiar, smart aleck voice. "I think you'll find her in there..." Hiro walked around the corner, and leaned against the wall, adjusting his loosening bandages.

Haru stared for a moment at Hiro, his brain slowly processing what he was thinking. He felt the anger bubble up, but he pushed it back with a laugh. "In the cage? What could Kisa-chan have possibly done wrong to make Akito-san lock her in the cage?"

Hiro looked at the ground, his voice suddenly becoming very small. "It's my fault... it's my... Akito saw us... together... he heard her say..." He clenched his fists tightly. "He threw her in the cage because..."

Haru continued to stare for a moment afterwards again, the anger boiling beneath the surface now. "Akito put her in the cage for what reason, again..." He stalked over to Hiro, and picked the smaller boy up by the front of his shirt.

Hiro refused to meet Haru's eyes. That was new. "He put her in the cage because..."

"TELL ME!" Haru yelled, shaking Hiro slightly.

"Because she dared to love without his permission," Hiro answered at last, letting himself hang limply in Haru's grasp.

Haru looked around, the wild look in his eyes. Black Haru was about to make his appearance.

Momiji grabbed Tohru comically, and made a run for cover.

Tohru yelped as she was dragged away and looked around quietly. Kyo began to sweat drop as he watched the scene unfold.

Don't kill the kid Haru.. he thought.

Haru growled, and threw Hiro down onto the ground. "And you just let it happen, didn't you, you little selfish pain in the ass!"

Hiro stumbled and ended up on his rear, looking away from Haru. "There was nothing I could do!"

"Did you even try to stop Akito!" Haru roared, walking slowly towards Hiro.

Hiro looked at Haru right in the eyes and without any other emotion muttered one single word. "Yes."

That somehow managed to stop Haru in his tracks. Hiro stood up. "I tried to stop Akito! I really did! I offered to let him take me! Not her, I was sure she wouldn't be able to handle being in the cage alone! I would much rather be the one locked in the cage!"

Haru's expression turned a little to surprised. "What are you talking about!" he snapped angrily.

Hiro swallowed hard before saying anything. "I'm saying that I tried to get Akito to take me instead! This whole thing was my fault, I never should have told him... I... I never should have been in the house like that... I..."

He was stopped by a hard smack from Haru that once again sent him sprawling to the ground. "Quit wallowing in self pity little boy and finish the damn story!"

Hiro wiped his lip, for it was bleeding. "I'm trying to! I did it, Haru! I told Akito I hated him because of what he was doing! Because I didn't want to lose her to that stupid cage more than you didn't!"

Haru crossed his arms, and continued to glare. "Continue."

"Just because she said she loved me is no damn reason to lock her up in that damned, forsaken place!" Hiro managed at last.

Haru turned around and stormed out of the house, riding on a cloud of rage.

Yuki looked back at Hiro, at the obvious lack of damage by Black Haru, and of the very large amounts of damage about to be caused at the main Sohma residence.

Kisa lay there on the ground with a large red mark on her cheek. Akito had gotten angry again... Kisa was curled up into a small ball and Akito was already in her own room. Kisa trembled slightly from the blow and coughed softly, cheeks red. Somehow she had captured a disease, which is commonly known as the flu. Coughing lightly again, there was a very loud poof and Kisa remained under her pile of close. She made no movement other than the continuously trembling. So she just lay there, with her uneaten food outside of the cage door, because obviously she wouldn't eat it.

Yuki looked at Shigure uneasily. "Umm... is there anyone we can warn about Black Haru at the main residence...? Is Kureno there that you know of, Hatori-san?"

Momiji quietly removed himself from his hiding place, Tohru following quietly from behind.

Hiro stood up very slowly, his head pounding.

Hatori nodded. "Kureno is there... He rarely wanders away from Akito..." he mumbled, thinking of the damage that Black Haru would cause.

Yuki looked at Shigure. "We might want to call the main house... tell them they're expecting a rowdy guest. And then we should follow him."

Shigure nodded. Tohru please stay here... and guard the house?" he asked, and Tohru merely nodded. Hatori wandered off and spoke through the phone with Kureno in a slight hurry.

"Right..." Kureno muttered from the end of the line and hung up the phone.

Yuki motioned to the door. "Shall we all begin damage control?" He looked around.

Momiji stood up, and gave him an uneasy nod. Hiro brushed himself off and muttered a soft "yeah."

Yuki looked back at the door. "Alright... let's go..."

Shigure wandered off with the two in silence, winking at Tohru before exiting the door.

"More like Damage Patrol…" he muttered as he glanced around in silence and continued to walk with them.

…………………….

Kisa laid there in utter silence, covered by her clothes other than one of her orange tiger ears and her tail sticking out from the pile. The pile was not moving though, but it you watched closely you could see the restless breathings of Kisa, that made the pile rise only slightly.

Yuki walked quickly along the street, the quick footsteps following him assuring him he wasn't alone as he walked. There were people on the street, most of whom looking like they'd just seen a ghost. Or an ox rampaging down the street. And from the number of people still on the ground and recovering, Yuki could tell that they weren't far behind Haru.

There was the main house now... and there was the door ripped violently from its hinges and strewn in a pathetic crumpled pile on the ground. Yuki walked in with only a small glance at the crumbled door.

Haru stalked down the main hall, ramming into anything that got in his way, and knocking it down as he made his way to the cage.

Kisa groaned slightly in pain and winced from under her clothes, her head throbbing. "H-Haru-kun... H-Hiro-kun..." she whimpered as her tail flicked slightly and fell to the floor with a small plop, and she went slightly limp. So there she lay, unconscious with a large lump on her cheek, a cut on her forehead, and rosy cheeks from the virus.

Haru stormed down the hall until he finally came upon the room. He paused when he saw the cage. It looked like there was nothing in there... until he saw the clothes move ever so slightly, and then his eyes caught a flash of orange. So she WAS in there...

That made him angrier than he had ever been in his life. He ran up to the cage, and grabbed the bars, pulling as hard as he could on them, shaking them violently, putting as much strength into it as he could.

Kisa's ear twitched slightly in her unconscious state and all of a sudden she went back into consciousness. Moving her head slightly, her clothes uncovered her head and she winced in pain, growling softly.

Haru continued to pull as hard as he could on the bars until the rest of the group showed up.

Yuki sighed, and put his hand on his head. "Haru, you can't get her out like that. Not even someone as strong as you are Black can pull those bars apart..."

Hiro stepped past Yuki, and shook his head. "I don't think so. They're just might be something to that..." He walked up to the cage and looked in, pressing his forehead against the bars, and smiling softly.

"If you're not going to help..." Haru grunted as he pulled again, and finally resorted to kicking the door as hard as he could. It rattled, but nothing more. "Then get out of my way, you stupid sheep..."

Hiro just ignored him, and sighed against the cage, closing his eyes. "You're sick, aren't you, Kisa?"

Kisa looked almost blindly at Hiro and she growled, head spinning and warmth radiating off of her. "H-Hiro..." she whimpered as she lifted her head slightly to try to see him better, but her head only plopped down onto the floor of the cage weakly, making her wince again.

Momiji walked up, grinning brightly at seeing Kisa again. "Hello again, Kisa...!"

Hiro ignored Momiji, and managed to push his hand into the cage slightly, making it go in as far as he could. He held out his hand, fingers extended.

Haru continued to pound on the cage, raising quite a ruckus.

Yuki sweat dropped. "Does anyone know where they keep the keys? I don't think Haru will be able to break in anytime soon."

Shigure put a finger to his lip. "Akito doesn't even tell Hari about that one..." he muttered. "One of the servants maybe?" he asked as he glanced around, but no one was in sight.

Kisa looked up at Hiro's hand and crawled to him slowly, putting her maw into his palm and then resting her head against it.

One thought ran through Shigure's head. I hope Akito doesn't hear the ruckus...

Hiro smiled ever so slightly, and rubbed his thumb on the top of her nose, all along her snout. He could feel the heat radiating from her skin, it was so hot to the touch...

Momiji walked up to Haru, and looked at him pleadingly. "Haru, please, calm down. If this continues, then Akito will hear and we'll all be in trouble."

Haru pounded on the cage, the anger starting to wear off. His hands were already bleeding from the times he had punched the cage. He took a step back, and sighed, reverting back to normal. "I can't get the cage open..."

Momiji sweat dropped. Hiro's gaze continued to be only on Kisa. Yuki turned back to Shigure. "Which one of the maids, though...?"

"The head servant?" Shigure asked as he tilted his head and looked terribly frustrated.

And there she came... The head maid, rushing around the corner with keys gripped in her hands. "What on earth is going on here!" she yelled in a hoarse whisper as she scowled at all the men standing there at the cage's entrance. Akito had given her the keys in advanced, just so she could open it and slide in the meals, which were scarce.

"Ah, the head maid..." Haru said softly, smiling pleasantly at the lady. "Do you think we could possibly borrow those keys from you? You see... there's someone in there that shouldn't be... and now she's terribly sick..."

Yuki quietly snuck around behind the maid, he wasn't going to let her get away if she decided to go for Akito.

Momiji walked up to the maid, his eyes brimming with pathetic tears. It was his sad little kid face. "Please... we all care too much about her to let her stay like this..."

Hiro turned around, and looked at the maid. "She's running such a bad fever, you think you could let her out? We need to get her to Hari!"

The maid panicked slightly when she was surrounded and gave the keys to Shigure, bowing her head. "Please... Do not tell Akito-sama..." she muttered as she bowed once again.

"Do not worry... We won't say a word..." as Shigure put a finger up to his lips, signaling the quiet sign. Looking over at Hiro, he gave Hiro the keys.

Hiro stood up and took the keys, staring at them for a moment, his hand shaking slightly.

"Are you going to open the cage, or will I have to do it for you?" Haru asked impatiently.

Hiro nodded and turned around. He pushed the key in after three tries, and a deep breath to steady his hand. He opened the door to the cage, and stepped inside.

Haru moved over to the door of the cage, standing in front of it in case someone got the idea to slam the door shut and lock Hiro in there as well.

Hiro walked up to the small orange figure on the ground, and bent down. He picked her up quickly, tears in the corners of his eyes, and walked out of the cage, cradling the tiger close to him.

Momiji slipped in quietly after Hiro, and picked up the clothes lying on the ground. He walked out and stood there, smiling graciously.

Yuki sighed in relief. "Let's get back to Shigure's house. This is only one part of the plan completed. As soon as Akito-san finds out about this, he's going to be very displeased."

Momiji nodded, and flashed a peace sign. Haru nodded but once. Hiro didn't say anything as he had his face buried in the soft orange fur of the tiger.

Kisa fell unconscious, the cut on the side of her forehead bleeding. Growling softly again, her tail flicked weakly and fell back into limpness as she fell in and out of consciousness.

Shigure smiled at Hiro and Kisa, proud that half of the problem had been taken care of.

Hiro looked up at Shigure, worry in his eyes. "She's really sick, Shigure..."

Haru and Miji frowned deeply, and Yuki looked a little worried.

"Let's... let's just get the hell out of this house..." Haru said softly. "Let's go back and get Hatori."

Momiji nodded in agreement. "Yes, let's go... anywhere but home. This isn't much of a home anymore."

Shigure nodded in agreement and gave the maid back the keys. The maid looked up in astonishment and wandered back to her quarters.

Yuki lead the way back out, as he had led it in. When they were a distance from the main house he finally sighed heavily, and leaned against a tree, laughing softly.

Hiro ignored him and kept walking, focusing on Kisa mainly, not really watching the street. Momiji padded along quietly behind him, the most pleasant smile possible on his face.

Haru stopped and looked at Yuki, watching him lean against the tree and laugh. "What's so funny?"

Yuki shook his head. "That was far too close... I suppose we should all be thankful that we're in one piece and we have her back with us..."

"But what about when Akito finds out?" Haru said softly, following Yuki as the gray haired boy began walking again.

Yuki shrugged. "We'll wait until then..."

They finally arrived at the house and Shigure sighed thankfully. Kisa was still unconscious though, her ears twitching occasionally as her fever rose.

Hatori paced outside as he noticed Hiro carrying Kisa. Tohru practically sprinted towards Hiro, looking at Kisa with her eyes watered.

Hiro sidestepped Tohru and handed Kisa over to Hatori, and looked up at him, pleading the doctor with his eyes. "Please... she's really sick... help her..."

Momiji nodded ferverently, looking up at Hatori with a similar expression. Haru had a look that said 'this gets worse, and I'm taking it from your hide'. Yuki just shook his head. "Hatori's a great doctor. He'll get her cured soon."

Hiro nodded, and looked at the ground, his eyes watering again. No, he wouldn't cry... at least not until she was human again.

Hatori took Kisa and wandered into the spare room silently, signaling for Momiji to follow with her clothes. Kneeling beside Kisa as he set her on the bed, he wrapped up the visible wounds and poured a liquid down her throat, that made her cough harshly and violently, flopping onto her other side.

Momiji followed Hatori curiously. He'd never really been able to see Hatori work... he'd hardly ever had anything bad happen to him at all.

Hiro sat quietly at the main table, looking every which way, and glancing at the clock. He looked really nervous.

Kyo looked at Hiro. "Don't worry... She'll be all right..." he muttered in an almost-caring voice.

Hatori soon walked out of the room and sighed, taking off his gloves.

Hiro stood up quickly, nearly bowling Kyo over in the process; he looked up at Hari, asking with his eyes what the news was. Momiji was nowhere to be seen. It worried him slightly.

"She's fine... we will know if she makes it through the night..." he informed him in a calm, but slightly worried tone.

Shigure sighed softly. "You may go in... But try not to wake her..." Hari informed Hiro.

Hiro nodded quietly, and walked into the room. Momiji grinned as he walked out, nodding at Kyo and quickly skipping back out to talk to Tohru.

Hiro approached the bed slowly, going as quietly as he could, which happened to not be making any noise at all. He kneeled down next to the bed and lightly put a finger on her forehead. It was still blazing hot. He sat so he could fold his arms on the bed, and set his head on them comfortably, watching her sleep lightly.

It took him only a moment to confess in the smallest, quietest voice he had. "I'm sorry, Kisa. I didn't mean for you to be hurt again. I... I don't know what I should do. If I stay close to you, then Akito will be very, very angry, and everyone will get in trouble. If I don't, then Akito might not throw you back in the cage again. Either way it's going to be hard..."

He buried his face in his arms, and sighed heavily. "This is such a hard decision... I'm too young to make this kind of a decision about people's futures... I'm just a kid..."

Haru nodded at them from the doorway, and walked out into the main room, sitting down quietly at the table. Yuki had been sitting there for a while, sipping his tea and waiting for the news.

Kisa seemed to mumble in her sleep lightly and her ears twitched again. Her fever only stayed at a constant temperature right now, but that temperature was very high and fatal.

Shigure wandered over to Yuki and sighed as he plopped down onto the floor. Kyo sighed slightly and watched the others. Tohru was standing in a corner as Momiji approached her. She had this terribly sad look on her face.

Momiji tried to keep as much of a grin on his face as he could, but even his hardest efforts couldn't pay off, and it slid off as he looked at Tohru. "Come on, Tohru! She's a tiger! They don't ever give up... ever! Besides, Hii-kun's in there with her now. She wouldn't give up knowing that he's there..."

Hiro stood up enough to lean forward, and quickly press his lips into the tiger's hot forehead. He winced when he felt the temperature, and his eyes welled up again. "I won't... I won't let some illness get the best of you, not after going through all the trouble of getting you away from Akito..."

A tear dripped from the tip of his nose, and landed on the blankets, right over Kisa's chest. "Please don't give up on me, Kisa... I'll be waiting for you when you wake up... I'll... I'm waiting for you, Kisa... I always will."

He dropped back to his knees, and cried into the blankets, hoping to whatever god that wasn't Akito would hear him and not let her die.

Tohru swallowed slightly and hugged Momiji quietly, and soon holding his rabbit form. "S-She'll make it..." she muttered, over and over again.

Momiji nodded as best as he could in his rabbit form, and tried to snuggle in closer to her. "Yeah... she'll make it. She's a tiger. They never give up like that..." but he couldn't hide the worry and doubt in his own voice.

Haru watched, and shook his head. "We won't know anything until tomorrow..." he snorted in disgust. "I hate waiting..."

Yuki sighed. "You sound like Kyo, calm down, and wait. She'll... she'll pull out of it..."

Haru shook his head. Even he could hear the doubt and loss of composure in Yuki's voice.

Hiro continued to cry into the bed covers, his worry not even slightly hidden from anyone... he loved her too much to lose her.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry again for the long disappearance. I'm a little squirmy when it comes to making things a habit. I tend to go off track and write random things to myself. Horrible habit. Well, I hope you enjoy the fifth chapter! I'll try to work on the 6th as soon as possible! –bows and leaves-

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE FURUBA SERIES… Self-explanatory

Chapter 5

The night passed on slowly like this, and when morning came, Kisa was nowhere to be seen. She had crawled off of the bed, and wasn't in the house at all.

Hiro woke up when he felt an odd tingling in his foot. He quickly realized that with the way he was sitting, it had fallen asleep. He unfolded his legs, and shook out his foot. Now all to do was see if she had survived through the...

She was gone.

Gone?

The word hardly registered in Hiro's worried, depressed, tired, and stressed mind, until all the aforementioned were swept away by a tidal wave of panic.

"Where is... where's Kisa?" he asked, looking around frantically. He walked out into the living area to see if Hari had taken her out there to get out of bed or something, and found nothing.

He ran quickly upstairs and knocked on the room with Momiji in it. There was no answer, so he knocked harder, practically pounding his fist on there. A moment later, the door opened, and a very tired looking messy-haired Momiji peeked out. He brightened up a little seeing Hiro. "So, what's the news? Is Kisa-chan all right?"

Hiro shook his head. "I don't know, I thought she was with you..."

Momiji looked confused for a moment, and looked back into his room. Haru was in there, due to lack of bed space, and the obvious fact that Hiro was probably not going to be sleeping in the room anyway. A moment later, a black and white head popped up from under the sheets.

"What time is it...?" Haru muttered softly.

"Time to wake up, Haru... I can't find Kisa!" Hiro said in a loud whisper, remembering that people were sleeping.

"That's nice, Hiro, wake me up when it's something import-" there was a sudden silence. Within the next moment Haru was looking back at him with a glare. "What did you say?"

Hiro gave him the sarcastic glare, and crossed his arms, anger bubbling up. "I said, I couldn't find Kisa, Haru."

Momiji, too tired to deal with this, made a run for Shigure's bedroom.

Shigure slowly exited his room and yawned softly, stretching. He had heard some sort of commotion and wondered what time it was. Looking around, he read 4:30 in the morning on the clock and yawned again.

"What do you mean can't find her! You were in the bedroom with her, weren't you!" Haru yelled, jumping quickly out of bed.

Hiro bristled slightly at the comment. "Hey, I need sleep too, kids don't have endless energy after all!"

Momiji ran up to Shigure, and waved his hands around in a bit of a panic. "Hii-kun says that Kisa's not here!"

Yuki woke up when he heard a loud thump. He jolted up and glanced at the clock. It wasn't even sunup or even close to it. What could the commotion be this time?

Hiro sat flat on his bottom in the hallway, leaning against the wall. Haru had pushed him into it.

"Tell me why again," Haru said softly, dangerously. "You can't find Kisa?"

Hiro looked down, and away, then jumped up to his feet and ran for the door. "I don't have time to deal with you, you stupid cow, I'm going to go find her!"

Yuki looked surprised in the hallway, his eyes unusually wide for this early in the morning.

But there was little Kisa, lying there with her eyes half open on the ground in front of the porch. Blinking silently, her ears flicked and she remained laying there with her head on top of her paws. It was much cooler outside.

Hiro, in an unusual moment of no composure at all, managed to trip over himself when he saw the flash of orange, and land hard on the ground, almost on his face.

Haru, standing in the doorway, laughed until tears came to his eyes.

Momiji wandered out to Hiro and Kisa. "Are you alright?"

Hiro grumbled and turned red with embarrassment.

Yuki stifled a laugh with his hand.

Kisa looked quietly over at the others and growled softly, closing her eyes and digging her claws lightly into the ground, giving the wounded temper, meaning that she wanted to stay outside for now.

Momiji smiled, no, grinned at Kisa, and turned around, looking back at the house. "Is Hari-san awake?"

Hiro sighed, and sat next to her, leaning back on his hands and looking at the pre-dawn sky. It was almost cold outside.

Haru shrugged, and smiled. At least Kisa had made it through the night, _and_ she was still on Shigure's property.

Without warning, Hari walked up beside Momiji and glanced at the stubborn Kisa, revealing a small smile.

Kisa remained where she was, still with a high fever, but alive.

Momiji cocked his head at Kisa. "Is it alright if she's out of bed like this?" he was talking to Hari.

Haru walked back inside. His sleep had been interrupted again, that didn't put him in a good mood for the morning. He was going to leave before he took it out on someone.

"Ahh... You are right Momiji... Kisa should not be out here, even though it is more comforting." Hari informed them. He seemed to know exactly why Kisa would be out here in her condition.

Kisa, refusing, shook her head from side to side when she heard this information.

Hiro gently placed a hand on Kisa's head, and sighed. "She's still hot. But... she wants to be out in the cool air... could we just give her a little time out here... it's probably horrible feeling in there. She survived the night. We should be happy."

Hari sighed. For once he agreed, though being a doctor, he knew better. Compromising, "Fine... Five minutes..." he said strictly as he stood there, watching them as if something would happen at that very moment. But nothing did.

Hiro looked back at the sky and smiled. He moved his hand back and placed it lightly beside her as to support his sitting position.

Yuki retreated back into the house, and Momiji sat on the back porch until the time was up.

The time was up soon and Kisa dug her claws into the ground lightly as she was tugged backwards, growling. Quite uncharacteristic.

Hiro shook his head lightly, watching Kisa protest. "You know you have to go back inside, you'll get better faster that way. I have something to show you once you're well enough."

Momiji smiled and nodded ferverently, agreeing with his younger cousin's statement. But at the 'someplace to show' her comment, he looked a little confused. Where could he have found that was special in the last few days?

Yuki and Haru were simply sitting at the table, patiently awaiting breakfast, and ignoring the commotion outside.

Kisa growled again and then released her hold on the ground as she was carried inside. When she spotted Haru sitting there at the table, she growled softly again and tried to get out of Hatori's grip.

Tohru, finally out of bed, wandered over to the kitchen, cooking random things, and some that weren't very edible, for she was only half awake. Smelling melted plastic, Tohru's eyes snapped open instinctively and she began to run around with a torched pan in her hands.

"What in the world is that...?" Yuki asked, smelling the foul stench. He leapt up quickly, and ran into the kitchen, Haru following behind him. The other people outside also smelled the burning, and peeked in the door, seeing if it was all right to venture inside or if the house was really going to be burnt down.

Yuki grabbed the pan from Tohru, set it quickly in the sink, and beat the fire out with a towel.

Haru laughed softly after it was all done, and Hiro and Miji walked in the door.

Miji ran immediately up to Tohru, and asked her if she was all right over and over again, looking her over like a worried mother.

Hiro just started snickering. "And to think... we're all living in the house, dependant on getting our food from someone so dense she can't even remember to take the plastic off of it. We're all doomed..."

"I'm so sorry!" Tohru cried as tears streamed down her cheeks and she bowed continuously. She only suffered a small burn on her right hand from the pan.

Kisa seemed to laugh from Hatori's arms. Hatori placed Kisa back in Hiro's arms, knowing he would take care of her at the moment, while he walked over to Tohru to inspect her hand.

Hiro kept laughing and absent-mindedly ran his fingers over the soft fur of the small orange tiger's face, forgetting for a moment that he wasn't holding a regular house cat. He sighed and rolled his eyes at Tohru when it was revealed to only be a small injury.

Momiji grinned at the good news, and hugged Tohru, turning into his rabbit form. Yuki sighed and sweat dropped a little.

Haru walked over and lightly thumped Tohru on the head. "Make sure you're fully awake and alert before attempting to use a stove next time, alright?"

Kisa licked Hiro's hand with her small tongue and watched the scene unfold as Tohru received a scolding from Haru.

"A-All right..." Tohru mumbled as she nodded.

Kyo stood there in the kitchen doorway and watched Tohru closely. "Baka.." he muttered softly.

Hiro turned slightly pink when he felt her tongue on his hand, and stopped what he was doing, moving his hand down a little bit so he wouldn't be tempted to start again. Then he just stood there and watched, trying not to laugh again.

Momiji climbed his way up to Tohru's head, and flopped down on there, looking like a pale yellow hat.

Haru shrugged. "We especially don't need THIS particular house to burn down. If it did, then we'd all be in trouble and without a feasible place to stay."

Yuki smiled lightly, turning away from the black cancerous blob in the sink that may have at one time been called breakfast. "Just be more careful, Tohru..." he walked out of the kitchen, and sat back down at the table.

Tohru sighed as Hatori made her put her hand under the cold water noting that that was the only treatment. Looking up at her new hat, Tohru smiled. She soon returned to cooking, and managed not to burn anything this time. Breakfast turned out fairly well. Placing it on the table, she sighed.

Hatori soon took Kisa back into his arms, as to put her back in her room. In attempt to feed her more medicine, she detested, which therefore resulted in Hari having to force Hiro to try to get her to take it.

Hiro looked a little stunned at the request, but shrugged and gave it a try anyway. He thought he might have an idea as to what to say. "I know the medicine is nasty. I've had it before, too. But think of it this way... if you take it, you'll be healthy and back to normal before you know it... and once you are. I have something I want to show you. I'm sure you'll love it."

Everyone else simply sat at the table enjoying their food, and talking happily.

Kisa tucked her head under her pillow stubbornly and began to ponder thoughts about Akito.

Speaking of Akito, she wasn't too happy. She had found the cage empty this morning and began to thrash around angrily. "GO LOOK FOR HER!" she yelled at Kureno.

Kureno nodded and left Akito standing there, and walked to the nearest phone, calling Shigure's house.

Yuki heard the phone ring, and was the first one to answer it. "Hello...?"

Hiro picked up the pillow, and looked at her, shaking his head. "Quit being so stubborn, it's better for you than not..."

Kisa hissed softly, staring at the medicine of which she thought was evil, and tipped the small cup over. Pouring the cold, slimy liquid into her mouth, she gagged at the flavor, and finished it, crawling under her blanket to pout.

………………

Kureno remained silent for a small while and finally spoke. "We have a problem... Akito-sama has gone on a rampage..." he told Yuki.

It was Yuki's turn to be silent for a moment. "So... what do you want me to say...? We can't tell Akito where Kisa is..."

Hiro smiled softly, and lightly patted the lump under the blankets. "That medicine should work well..." he walked back out into the living room, and watched Yuki on the phone. "Whom is he talking to?"

Haru shrugged, and so did Momiji.

Tohru was busy cleaning dishes at the moment, so she didn't know what was going on.

"I'm not sure..." Kureno mumbled as he sighed. "I think he is becoming suspicious of you and the others... But if he wants to go over to Shigure's house... he will go. What will you do then?" he asked.

Yuki sighed. "I don't know. I would have to ask Shigure, but I haven't seen him yet..."

Hiro sighed. "It's the main house isn't it?"

Haru nodded slightly. "Looks like it..."

Hiro glared at the phone. "Well, we're not giving her back, that's for sure!"

Shigure was asleep in an unconscious way in his study. "H-High school girls and short skirts.." he slurred in his sleep as he twitched slightly.

Kisa clawed slightly at her door and growled, trying to open it like a dog that wanted in or out of a house. Hissing at the door softly, she laid down and fidgeted, not liking the though of being alone in a room that seemed so large to her. She just didn't want to be alone, for she was remembering the cage.

Yuki turned back to the others in the room. "Would one of you please go wake Shigure up?"

Haru looked at Momiji, who, with a poof, turned back into his human form and ran off to get his clothes. Hiro had noticed the sounds coming from the room where Kisa was, and went to go figure it out.

Haru sighed, and walked to the study, knocking heavily on the door. "Alright Shigure, time to wake up. We have a situation here!"

Hiro opened the door, and found the little tiger lying on the ground in front of it. "Kisa... what are you doing out of bed?" he leaned down and picked her up.

Kisa had her eyes closed and dug her fangs into Hiro's arm before she heard him speak. Retracting her small fangs out of his arm, she curled up into a ball and clung to Hiro lightly. "I...I don't want to be alone..."

Shigure shot up instantly and yelled, "High school girls! ...?" as he opened the door slowly and looked at Haru, hair sticking up in several places.

Haru sighed and shook his head. "Shigure, you have a phone call from Kureno. Seems Akito already knows Kisa's gone."

Hiro winced slightly when he felt her bite him, but didn't move. "Not alone... I get it. But you can't leave bed, you're not even well enough to change out of your animal form..."

Shigure was already with the phone in his hands and chatting away with Kureno, who, in response, held his phone away from his ear.

Kisa growled softly and continued to cling to Hiro, her warmth radiating off of her as she growled.

Hiro sighed, slightly feeling defeated, and walked out of the room. "I'll talk to Hatori..."

He found the entire current cast sitting in the room, looking at Shigure and sweat dropping. He sighed, and shook his head when he realized Shigure was rambling, and continued to look for Hatori. "Have any of you seen Hatori?"

Hatori appeared behind Hiro like a ghost from a horror film. "What is it?" he asked, watching Shigure with that same annoyed look.

Shigure finally stopped chatting. Hearing what Kureno had to say, his face becoming serious again. "Right... Hmmm... This isn't good... I fear a confrontation soon..." he muttered as he sighed heavily. "Do your best to try to change Akito's mind..."

Hiro straightened up a little bit in surprise, and then looked down at Kisa. "She says she doesn't want to be alone... and none of us want to spend the entire day in that room..." He gave a warning glare at Momiji and Haru that promised pain if either of them was to say that they wouldn't mind it. Momiji looked the other way. Haru looked at Hiro in agreement.

Hiro turned back to the doctor. "Is there any sort of compromise we can make?"

Hatori sighed, pondering the right answer. "She may come out of her room... but do not let her outside until she is healthy again. But someone must always watch her closely..." he informed them looking down at Kisa.

Kisa growled softly and closed her eyes again, a small cough escaping her lungs.

Hiro smiled softly, and nodded at the doctor. "We'll take good care of her..." his hand was once again absent-mindedly stroking the side of her face.

Kisa twitched slightly but didn't mind all too much as she rested, cradled in Hiro's arm. Hatori nodded silently. "Now… if there is nothing else I am needed for... I will return to Akito before he suspects anything." he informed them.

Hiro nodded, and went for the TV room.

Momiji stood up and waved. "Good luck with Akito-san, Hatori-san!"

"Because everyone knows you're going to need it," Yuki added, sipping tea.

Haru stood up and went for the door. "Hang on, I'll go with you. If I'm away from the house for too long, then I'll be as much of a liability as you." He waved briefly to the others.

Tohru waved to the two whom were leaving from the kitchen and yawned softly, still slightly asleep.

Hatori smiled slightly; maybe everyone was hallucinating, and then turned away, walking out of the door.

Kisa looked up at Haru sleepily and watched him leave before returning to her original position in Hiro's arms.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FURUBA….

1Chapter 6

Hiro sat down, and lightly put Kisa down next to him before reaching for the remote, and flipping on the television, channel surfing for something interesting, since nothing else in the house was.

As soon as he had settled on something, Momiji walked in and sat next to him and Kisa, watching the brightly animated show on television. It was some sort of little kids anime that involved small creatures with high-pitched voices.

Yuki looked up from his place at the table at Shigure. "So, what are we planning on doing if Akito decides to drop by and have a chat?"

"We lie... and hide Kisa the best that we can. If he comes back again... we must try to make him change his mind on punishing her. That's all I really came up with..." he muttered and looked at the ground as if he was in deep thought.

Kisa awoke and crawled into Momiji's lap, tail twitching slightly.

Momiji straightened up a little, and looked down, surprised. He looked from Kisa to Hiro, and found the younger boy sitting rigidly in place. He had seen... Momiji thought as he sweat dropped.

He leaned down to talk to Kisa. "You're making Hii-kun jealous..." he laughed softly. "He's going to be angry at me for this... and to think I just got on his good side..."

"Don't count on it, rabbit," Hiro said bitterly, focusing on the television and trying hard not to be angry... or cry.

Momiji sweat dropped, and laughed nervously.

Kisa sneezed softly and trembled as she rolled off of Momiji's lap and buried herself in the blanket that Tohru had just put in-between Momiji and Hiro. Now underneath the blanket, more sneezes and coughs could be heard.

Momiji smiled and sweat dropped again, a little relieved that he wasn't the source of his youngest cousin's anger anymore.

Hiro didn't relax though; he just stared at the TV, scrutinizing every little detail.

Momiji sweat dropped even more. "I'll go get some tea..." he stood up, and started out of the room.

Kisa shifted her weight slightly and growled as she pawed around, looking for an opening in the blanket. Still shifting around, she accidentally rolled off of the couch with a loud squeak.

Hiro started quickly, looking around to find where the squeak had come from. He looked down on the ground to find a mass of blankets writhing about. He shook his head, and unraveled the blankets. "Are you alright?"

Kisa looked up at Hiro and her eyes caught where she had bitten him before. Looking at the wound again, she licked it softly. "S-Sorry.." she muttered as she coughed slightly.

Hiro turned slightly pink, and shook his head. "That's alright... I don't care..." He picked her and the blankets up, and put them on the couch.

Momiji, watching from the doorway, moved back to where no one could see him, and covered his mouth with his hand, laughing softly.

Kisa closed her eyes again and curled up into a small ball, with her tail wrapped around her as well. She laid there with her back pressed against Hiro's thigh and slept soundlessly.

Momiji walked back in quietly with two cups of tea after he was sure Kisa was asleep. He handed one silently to Hiro, and sat back in his original place, sipping the tea lightly. He looked over at the two others and smiled. "To think that something little like this" he motioned to how Hiro and Kisa were. "Started this whole mess..."

Hiro let the cup down from his lips, and looked away, off to the other side of the room. "And it was all my fault, too... Akito-san... said to stay away from..."

"Your fault?" Momiji answered with a laugh. "It's not your fault. I hate to say this... and I don't know how I can, but... it's all Akito-san's fault for being so sensitive about it!"

Hiro looked back at the television. "But we can't blame Akito... we can't do anything to him... so... it's my fault."

Momiji shook his head, and sighed.

"It's not your fault Hiro-kun..." Kisa mumbled as she looked up at him sleepily and rested her head on his thigh.

Momiji smiled triumphantly. "You see? The only person blaming YOU is YOU yourself, so stop it. No one's going to ever say it's your fault either, so don't keep thinking that..."

Hiro opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by Momiji's hand.

"Eh eh!" said the rabbit. "And I'm not going to let you contest that!"

Hiro went back to watching TV, trying to enjoy it as the mindless entertainment it was. The show had shifted to some sort of an angsty shoujo melo-drama.

Yuki looked pointedly at Shigure. "That's a brilliant plan, Shigure. How do you know Akito's not going to turn the entire place upside down and shake it? Knowing him, he would... then what? If Akito comes over, we need to have someplace to..."

"Hmmm... We cannot endanger anyone in this household... but I do not know..." he muttered.

"Well..." Yuki said thoughtfully, looking at the table as if he could find the answer written in the wood. "We better think of something soon... because I don't think Akito would wait very long, especially if Kureno can't convince him..."

Shigure nodded in silence.

Yuki placed his chin on his hand thoughtfully. "So many dilemmas... my head hurts just thinking about how much I've thought in the last few days..."

Shigure nodded and stifled a laugh, because this was no laughing matter.

Kisa growled softly in her sleep and opened her eyes restlessly, her fever going up and down continuously.

Momiji looked at Hiro. "Where did Hari-san leave the medicine?"

Hiro shrugged. "I think it's in the room..."

Momiji nodded and headed out after it.

Hiro moved the blanket so it covered her almost completely as Momiji returned.

"Well, the bottle says to take one cup every six to eight hours... but this little note from Hari-san says four to six hours... has it been that long yet?" Momiji asked, looking at Hiro.

Hiro looked around for a clock. "What time is it...?"

Miji looked at his watch. "It's about nine now..."

Hiro thought for a moment. "I don't remember the last time she had her medicine... but I don't think it was four hours ago..."

Kisa hissed and growled slightly and continued to have her eyes closed tightly. Digging her claws lightly in the couch, she growled again.

Yuki sighed in the other room. "Only thing I have is to get them out of the house when someone from the main house calls, and keep them there until Akito goes away. We might want to send Tohru off, as well if that happens. Because... well, Akito might try and blame it on her or... I hate to say it, she might accidentally blurt out that we've seen Kisa..."

Kisa hissed and growled slightly and continued to have her eyes closed tightly. Digging her claws lightly in the couch, she growled again.

Shigure sighed as well. "That would be the best... but where would we hide them?"

This time, Yuki shrugged. "I don't know. That's all I can say. I don't know."

Hiro looked down at Kisa and frowned lightly. "What's the matter?"

Kisa didn't want to say, but she gritted her teeth and tried to remain calm as her fever rose slightly.

Hiro raised an eyebrow, and placed his hand on top of her head. "Kisa..."

Kisa looked up at him and growled softly before her fever found a degrees to stop at for the moment, but that degree was still beyond normal.

Hiro wasn't about to let her off so easily. "Alright, so what is it?"

"Nothing..." she muttered. Somehow... every time she thought of Akito, it gave her a very large headache and her fever rose.

Momiji sat back, slightly amused, watching what he would easily call the strangest quarrel he'd ever seen.

"Kisa, if you'd tell me, I'd leave it alone..." Hiro lightly scratched the top of her head.

"Akito..." she finally muttered, and there was a loud banging on the door. It was Akito...

Momiji and Hiro both looked back towards the door confusedly. "I wonder who that is..." Momiji asked softly.

Yuki stiffened up and looked at Shigure. "Answer the door..." he padded silently up to the television room, and looked inside. "We have a visitor... it's Akito..."

Hiro and Momiji exchanged surprised glances, then worried ones. They both nodded, and stood up, Hiro grabbing Kisa with the blanket.

Yuki and the other three passed Shigure, and then Yuki looked into the kitchen for Tohru. "Tohru, we have to go now, come on..." He hurried for the back entrance, Momiji and Hiro following close behind, and finally snuck out, closing the door behind him.

Shigure walked over to the door, as soon as he knew that the others had left through the back door. "Ahhh... Akito-sama. Welcome." Shigure uttered with a smile as he opened the door. Akito came in wildly, knocking things over.

"WHERE IS SHE! WHERE ARE YOU HIDING HER?" she yelled as she looked at Shigure.

"Who is that Akito-sama?" Shigure asked.

"YOU KNOW WHO! KISA!" she yelled in anger.

Everyone could hear the yelling even from this distance, and almost everyone sweat dropped. Yuki led them farther away from the house and deeper into the forest.

"Where are we going, Yuki-kun?" Momiji asked quietly, almost as if he talked too loud Akito would be able to hear them.

Yuki looked back at the shrinking house, now comfortably hidden behind some trees. "To the secret base..." he said softly, hoping it would be far enough away that if Akito went for the forest, he wouldn't find them.

Momiji looked in his hand and sighed. At least he hadn't left the medicine, that would've been bad.

Akito continued to search for Kisa violently, sending things flying in every direction. Finally, she collapsed onto the couch where Kisa once was and sighed, Shigure and Kureno scurrying in after her.

"Akito-sama..." Shigure muttered as he looked at her in silence.

Kisa had dug her claws lightly into Hiro's shirt when she heard the yelling from the house.

They arrived at the garden, and Hiro sat down on a flat-ish looking rock near the back. "I'm kinda glad we turn into our animal forms when we're sick. Carrying her out of there in human form would've been dangerous and slow..."

Yuki nodded in agreement, and sat down near the side closest to the house. He called a few rats to him, and told them to go watch the house from the forest. They scurried off without much noise.

A small brown rabbit hopped up to Momiji and settled itself into his lap. He picked it up and cuddled it lightly. "I love having this ability to talk to these animals."

Yuki smiled. "Yeah."

Hiro snorted. "It'd be so much easier if we had a fully-grown tiger living somewhere in the forest. Then we could sick it on Akito."

Momiji shook his head. "You honestly think Kisa would do something like that?"

Hiro shook his head. "No, but I'd order a ram to go charging through the house if they were native to this region."

Momiji sighed, and put the rabbit back in his lap.

What seemed like several hours soon passed and Kisa's ears twitched at a snap of a twig. Standing up instantly, she growled and fell back over when she saw who it was. It was Shigure and Kyo. Kyo looked like he had been dragged there on purpose and was grumbling angrily about who knows what.

Shigure smiled softly. "Kyo was quite the hero..." Shigure told them in a cheerful tone.

The rabbit, smelling dog, scrambled out of Momiji's lap, and away into the underbrush. "What do you mean quite the hero?"

Yuki looked unapprovingly at Kyo, then turned the same look on Shigure. "What does that mean?"

Hiro laughed and stood up next to Kisa. "The cat? A hero? How so?"

Kyo continued to grumble. Shigure only laughed. "Well... as soon as he heard that Akito was there, he barged in full of rage. Somehow... he scared Akito off... Which is a bit odd. I'm still thinking of what happened..." Shigure uttered as he stroked his chin and looked at Kyo, who was also wondering what the hell had happened.

"Scared Akito off...? Kyo...?" Yuki asked, raising an eyebrow slightly and looking at the cat. He started to laugh softly, trying to cover it with his hand, and failing.

Momiji jumped up and down. "That's great Kyo!"

Hiro laughed with Yuki at Kyo. "Now why in the heck would Akito be afraid of the cat?"

Kyo growled and grumbled angrily.

"All I heard was, 'GET AWAY FROM ME YOU MONSTER! I DON'T WANT YOUR STENCH!'" Shigure muttered, making an odd impersonation of Akito.

Yuki finally managed to get rid of the laughter, and instead shrugged. "I guess whatever works, works..."

Momiji stretched, his legs stiff from sitting for so long, and smiled. "So... shall we head back now?"

Hiro nodded, and looked down at Kisa again. "Ready?"

Kisa growled softly and just laid there in the grass, the dew from the grass making her fur wet.

Yuki smiled gently, and looked away towards the way home.

Hiro shook his head lightly and picked her up, feeling the cold wetness of her fur and moving his arm so he could wipe it off. He grabbed the blanket and threw it at Momiji, who caught it effortlessly, then began to walk back, following Yuki.

Kisa growled softly and relaxed, not really wanting to go back. Tohru followed in silence, surprisingly enough, she hadn't said anything the entire time they were out there. Kyo grumbled again and took the lead back to the house.

Hiro walked in silence, watching the path in front of him, he had ended up towards the back, accompanied by Momiji, Yuki walking right in front of him and behind Kyo and Shigure.

They reached the house all right, and Hiro sighed. This was great... somehow Kyo had managed to chase Akito off... he would have to remember that some time.

Kisa curled up in Hiro's arms and licked him once again, ears twitching. Her fever was slowly going away.

Hiro turned bright red as he walked into the house, trying to hide his face from everyone else. Naturally, he couldn't get it past Momiji who covered his mouth and giggled softly.

Yuki looked around the house carefully, as if Akito would burst out of the closet and drop a cage on all of them. There was no Akito or Kureno awaiting them, though.

Kisa rested her head on Hiro's arm, her tail twitching. The house was a mess.

Hiro had to laugh; he couldn't help it. He set Kisa down as he collapsed to his knees, and laughed until he cried. "This is awesome... Akito must've been sooooo pissed..."

Momiji looked at Hiro disapprovingly, then around at the house. "Wow... Akito did a number on your house, Gure-san..."

Yuki sighed and sweat dropped. "What a mess..."

Shigure sighed and looked over at Tohru pleadingly. Tohru's eyes widened and she sweat dropped. "Of course Shigure-san..." she mumbled as she smiled.

Kisa sighed, ears drooping. "I'm sorry Shigure-san..." she muttered as she held her head down low.

Shigure smiled. "It's all right Kisa..." he informed her.

Hiro leaned back on his hands, a rare grin plastered on his face, as he laid one leg sideways, and kept the other drawn up. He laughed again, tears still in his eyes.

Momiji frowned for a moment. "Ohhh... I get it..."

Yuki just sighed, and attempted to help Tohru with the mess.

"Momiji-kun is slow..." Kisa muttered as she smiled lightly and sighed. It was like all stress on her had been relieved. With a somewhat loud popping noise and poof of smoke, Kisa was nowhere to be seen. She had ran back to her room while the smoke was still in the air.

Hiro, on the other side of Kisa from everyone else, could be seen with an eyebrow raised as all the smoke cleared. Then he smiled, closing his eyes as he figured out what it meant, he had forgotten for a second.

Momiji grinned happily, and jumped up and down. "Yay! She's feeling better!"

Yuki smiled as well, looking back from a dusty pile that may have at one time been some sort of vase.

Kisa walked out of her room sleepily with a new outfit on. They were Tohru's pajamas. Looking over at the others in her new, blue and yellow outfit, she yawned softly. "I want to help..." Kisa muttered to Yuki as she tugged lightly on the hem of his shirt.

Hiro had to resist the urge to run over to her, and pick her up in a bone-crunching hug when he saw her re-emerge. Instead his heart managed to skip a beat, and left his jaw slightly slack in disbelief.

Momiji, however, had no such self-control, and ran up to Kisa, hugging her tightly enough that it lifted her off the ground. "Welcome back, Kisa!"

Hiro stiffened slightly, but didn't try to approach her. He just stood up and dusted himself off. He would watch from the outside like he always did. It was different interacting with her in her two different forms. He could be as close to her in her tiger form as he wanted to, but when she was human...

Momiji finally set her down and grinned. Yuki smiled at her, and motioned to the mess that was the house. "Well, pick a place to start. In fact, I think everyone should help..." he looked pointedly at Hiro, who returned the look with a glare.

Kisa nodded and wandered over to what seemed to be the largest mess, which was the closet. Everything was taken out and spewed all over. Kisa kneeled on the ground and began to put clothes back on their hangers neatly and lay them out on the floor.

Hiro shook his head as Momiji skipped off to another part of the house, apparently the TV room. He heard the rabbit's voice call to him, and he followed it. But that meant he would get to pass Kisa, and as he did so, he lightly touched her shoulder.

When he arrived in the TV room, he found it in almost worse condition. It looked like someone had set a rabid wolf to the room. The couch was overturned, there was a cushion laying in the corner with the front of it torn open, and stuffing leaking pathetically out and strewn about the room. There was something in the television screen that Hiro couldn't quite place, but the TV was smoking slightly. He looked at the mess, and Momiji looking pathetically at the television.

"And there was something I wanted to watch later, too... oh well..." Momiji said, looking at Hiro. "Hey, help me flip the couch back over..."

Hiro nodded softly, and went to one side of the couch while Momiji went to the other.

Kisa soon began hanging up the jackets and scarves, until she saw a box with its contents strewn on the floor. Pursing her lips slightly, she closed her eyes and began to pack away the indecent pictures of mainly high school girls. Shigure-san.. She thought as she laughed silently and pushed the box into the back of the closet.

Tohru continued cleaning in silence and wandered into the kitchen, where several dishes were broken and all the cabinets were opened. Sweat dropping, she took out a broom and swept all the chunks of dishes into one pile, which was fairly huge.

It took Momiji and Hiro three tries to flip the couch over, neither of them being particularly strong. Hiro kicked the side of the couch, and frowned at it. "What the hell is this thing made of, lead?"

Momiji laughed, and looked at the torn patheticness of it. "This couch is unusable... we'll have to get Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun to move it!" Momiji said happily. Hiro looked pointedly at the cushion in the corner.

"I could've told you that..." Hiro looked back around the house. "Where are the other two cushions?"

Momiji shrugged. "I kinda don't wanna know..."

The two of them began to clean up the rest of the room, Hiro began to disassemble the TV, and pick up the glass, while Momiji made a run for the vacuum, he would get it first...

He saw Yuki cleaning up the remains of the vase with it. Momiji sighed, and tapped Yuki on the shoulder. "Can we have the vacuum next?"

Yuki nodded, and went back to work.

Kisa wandered into the Living Room and her eyes widened at the mess. Seeing Momiji and Hiro taking care of it, she left that room to them and walked over towards the Kitchen, with was an even bigger mess. "Oh... Kisa watch out!" Tohru yelled as there was a loud crunch and Kisa began hopping around on one foot, a piece of plate stuck in the other one.

Hiro, finished cleaning up the big mess, walked out into the main area, trusting that Momiji would be vacuuming the rest, when something hit him from the side, and knocked him over, him yelping as his hands shout out in front of him to ease his fall, and prevent him from ending up hitting his face. He cursed, his words muffled by the floor.

Yuki walked around the corner from another room, carrying the two missing couch cushions, both in the same condition as the first one. "What in the world is going on out here...?"

Kisa sat silently on the floor at Tohru gently took out the pieces of dish. Tohru replaced the pieces with band-aids and sweat dropped before she continued to clean up the kitchen again.

Kisa hobbled out to the living room and saw Hiro on the ground. "Hiro-kun?" she asked as she balanced against the wall, one foot hovering above the ground.


	7. Chapter 7

1Chapter 7

Hiro grumbled and stood up, realizing he had slipped on something, not been knocked over. He picked up the dusty object from the ground near his foot and looked at it. He turned bright red, and looked away. It was a very naked picture of a woman... someone that looked familiar, but he didn't want to look again to find out how.

He held the picture out towards Shigure. "Would you please take care of this filth, you dirty old man?"

Momiji laughed, as he had seen the entire thing from in the living room. He ran up to Hiro before Shigure could get to the picture, and stole it from Hiro's hand. "Filthy? What do you mean?"

He looked very nonchalantly at it, which made Hiro blush even brighter, and look to the side, where his eyes met Kisa's. He just couldn't catch a break today.

Momiji suddenly looked thoughtful, and turned back to Shigure. "Gure-san, why does this lady look so much like Akito-san? Don't tell me it's a new trend..."

Hiro's jaw dropped as he looked at Momiji. Yuki looked surprised beyond belief.

Kisa stood up, eyes widened. "W-What?" Kisa asked as she hobbled over to Shigure and looked at him in the eyes.

Kyo hopped down the stares and stared at Shigure just like Kisa did. "Spill it..." he growled.

Shigure sweat dropped largely as he looked at the two in his face. "It's a friend I met... That's not Akito! How dare you!" he growled as he lied and hid the picture in his shirt.

Yuki crossed his arms in front of him, and gave Shigure a most unbelieving glare. "I don't believe you, Shigure."

Momiji hmphed like a little child and stared at Shigure harder. "Yeah, neither do I!"

Hiro glared once at Shigure before walking over to Kisa, about to inquisite her about her foot as soon as Shigure spilled it.

Shigure told them the most secretive secret of the Sohmas... "Akito... is a girl... Not a high school girl, or I would c-" he muttered but was cut off by Kyo hitting him on top of the head with a vein on his forehead.

Kisa looked at Hiro and absentmindedly stood on her injured foot, making her fall forward into Hiro.

Yuki's eyes went wide suddenly, and he looked a little faint, leaning back into the doorway next to him. He covered his forehead with his hand, and sighed. "That would explain much... I had my theories on this, too... this confirms them..."

Momiji looked really shocked for a moment, and then grinned. "So that's why sometimes she's so angry! Time o' the month! That explains some things..." Momiji paused for a moment, and then his eyes welled up and he began to cry pathetically. "I saw her naked..." He sobbed.

Hiro looked utterly shocked at Shigure, until he felt something fall into him. He turned around quickly, and caught her lightly, leaning back heavily to do so. He began to blush heavily, partly because he too had seen the head of the family naked, but more so because he was now holding Kisa.

Kisa had her head in his chest and was blushing deeply. Pulling backwards, she stood there, looking down at the ground nervously, standing on one leg. "S-Sorry..."

Shigure sighed at their reactions and placed a hand against his forehead. "This didn't turn out well..." he mumbled as he turned his gaze towards Hiro and Kisa and smiled softly.

Hiro looked to the side. "No... it's alright..." Hiro said softly.

Yuki finally managed to regain his composure, and walked up to the others. "I didn't think a man could be that cruel..."

Momiji glared at Yuki. "Hey, that's sexist!"

Yuki, in a show of being very out-of-character, smirked back at Momiji. "Oh, and like your comment wasn't?"

Meanwhile, Hiro was ignoring the bickering of his relatives. He looked back up at Kisa, and blushed again lightly. "I... have something I want to show you... but... you can't see it until tomorrow morning," he whispered, not wanting to be heard by anyone but her in all the commotion. With the way Momiji was complaining now, he didn't have anything to worry about.

Kisa looked at Hiro in a confused manner and smiled softly. "All right Hiro-kun..." she mumbled as she blushed and closed her eyes, listening to her stomach growl loudly. A small sweat drop formed on the side of her head.

The growl interrupted Momiji's rantings, and everyone stopped and sweat dropped, then looked at Kisa.

"I guess she's hungry," Momiji said, pointing out the obvious. Of which Hiro pounced upon.

"Well, obviously, or did you think that her tiger had somehow managed to transfer itself into her stomach?" Hiro grumbled turning to look at Momiji. At least some things never changed.

Kisa smiled softly and sweat dropped again as she limped off into the kitchen, knowing there was nothing else to step on. Cautiously, she entered the kitchen and looked around curiously, never having explored the kitchen before, and not knowing where anything was.

Yuki looked up at Shigure seriously. "You, sir, have a lot of explaining to do. And the least of your worries will be why you have a naked picture of Akito," he said warningly.

Hiro sighed softly, releasing his embarrassment at being so close to Kisa in one motion.

Momiji walked in the kitchen with Kisa. He had an idea where some things were, but he really needed Tohru for everything. Kisa reached up high to get a plate and when she finally did, it tipped over and crashed onto the ground loudly, Kisa jumping back. When Kisa landed, she landed on her injured foot, which sent her fumbling onto the ground. Tohru came rushing into the kitchen when she heard the loud crash and looked at Kisa, who was trying not to cry.

Hiro and Yuki both peeked into the kitchen from around the door, wondering what was going on. The first thing Hiro noticed was Kisa on the ground, and looking a bit like she was in pain. He rushed up to her, kneeling down next to her, not caring about the broken plate on the ground. "Are you alright?" he placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eye.

Yuki walked in slowly, shaking his head, while Momiji, who had jumped and yelped at the plate crashing down, turned around and looked at her.

"What in the world was that?" Yuki asked softly, before seeing the broken plate.

Momiji sighed. "Kisa... please, please... ask for someone's help who is taller than you before doing that. Please. Danke."

Kisa nodded to Hiro and looked over at Momiji with teary eyes. "I-I'm sorry Momiji-kun..." she said nervously as she looked down at the plate and then up at Tohru.

Momiji shook his head softly, and shrugged. "Especially not with a foot like yours."

Hiro sighed softly, and noticing her foot, looked back at her face. "What did you do to your foot, Kisa?"

"I stepped in the kitchen..." she muttered, looking over at the large pile of broken glass, plates and whatnot. Her foot was bandaged, but the blood began to leak through the bandage due to her using it so suddenly like that.

Tohru sighed and went to go get the broom, but when she got back, Kisa was already picking up the large chunks apologetically.

Hiro, in an odd moment of cooperativeness, decided to help pick up, too. He was close to the floor as it was, and the second closest one to the mess anyway. He gathered some of the larger and smaller chunks together, and looked at Tohru. "Bring the trashcan over here." He shifted his hand, and winced when he realized he had cut himself on one of the plate shards. Sure enough, there was a crimson streak along the sharp edge of one particularly large fragment. For some reason, when Hiro pricked himself, Kisa wanted to kiss his wound. Just the thought of it made her blush deeply. Absentmindedly, she cut the palm of her hand and winced, looking at it as if it was cool.

Tohru brought over the trashcan and Kisa put the chunks in, still looking at her hand. Tohru noticed the two and their injuries and began to panic. "Wah! Kisa-chan, Hiro-kun... You're both cut!"

Hiro snorted. "We'll be just fine... it's nothing but a scratch." He clenched his hand, and felt it wet with blood. "Besides, it's not like I don't know how to put a Band-Aid on myself." He put the shards in the trashcan, careful not to cut himself again.

He looked over at Kisa, and frowned slightly in concern.

Instinctively, Kisa began to suck on the palm of her hand, tasting the metal taste of it. Shigure, Tohru, and Kyo all sweat dropped.

"Kisa's turned into a vampire..." Shigure muttered.

"What!" Yelped Tohru as she looked at Kisa, taking the comment seriously.

Hiro sighed and placed his uninjured hand on his forehead. "No, she's just a tiger. They're predators," he said, trying to add a scary tone to the sarcasm in his voice. "That's why I'm not licking my hand." He held out his injured hand, and the nasty cut in the middle of it, the blood smeared on his fingers from where he had clenched his fist. The blood was already starting to dry from the areas not close to the cut, and his hand was really sticky.

Tohru felt faint and wobbled backwards, bumping into Kyo and then Yuki as they both transformed. Kyo sat there in his cat form, surrounded by his clothes. "Stupid..." he muttered as he glared at Hiro.

Kisa laughed softly and looked over at Hiro, smiling.

Hiro smiled back softly, before walking over to the sink and rinsing his hand off. He drew a sharp breath as the water stung on his injury, but soon his hand was clean.

Momiji, who had been looking away and feeling slightly nauseous, looked back at Hiro and glared slightly. "That's not true, you know!"

Hiro smirked his usual smart-ass expression back at Momiji. "She apparently doesn't know that." He looked pointedly at Tohru.

Yuki sighed and looked Tohru over, moving around her as a rat.

Kisa yawned softly and plopped onto her back, looking up at the ceiling in silence. Shigure watched her in silence.

"Are you all right?" he asked as he walked over to her and looked down at her curiously. Kisa nodded slightly and remained on the floor, enjoying the coldness of the floor.

Hiro dried his hand off quietly with a paper towel, not wanting to ruin any towels that might have survived Akito's wrath. He looked over at Kisa, then up at the ceiling. "What's so fascinating on the ceiling?"

"Nothing..." Kisa muttered as her cheeks were flushed slightly due to a small fever coming back.

Hiro walked over to her, and offered his uninjured hand. "Well, you're going to have to wash that hand soon..."

Momiji raised his hand like an overexcited schoolgirl. "I'll go get the bandages!" he scurried out of the room, feeling even more nauseated now that he'd seen Hiro's hand.

Kisa took Hiro's hand silently and hobbled over to the sink. Washing out her deep cut, she continued to stare at it in an odd way. Looking over at Hiro's injured hand, she grabbed it lightly and inspected it closely, making sure there was nothing left. She sure was acting strange at the moment.

Hiro gave her an inquisitive look, and cocked his head to the side slightly. "Kisa? What are you doing?"

Kisa kissed his hand lightly and smiled at him, releasing his hand quietly.

Hiro's eyes went wide suddenly, and he blushed brightly. He managed a weak smile through the redness of his face, and let his hand drop in a slow, languid gesture.

Momiji walked in with the First-Aid Kit in his hands to find everyone staring at Hiro and Kisa. "What'd I miss?" he asked, looking around.

Kisa blushed lightly and smiled at Momiji. "Nothing..." she answered as she smiled again. Tohru's eyes got chibi-like as she stared at the two.

Momiji sighed. "I always miss the good part..." he held out the kit. Hiro walked over and snatched it from Momiji's hands, blushing as well. He walked back to Kisa, and set the box on the counter, where he began pawing at its contents, looking for the right thing.

Yuki sighed as a loud POOF! Filled the room, and he grabbed his clothes and hurried off before anyone could see him.

Kisa smiled again at Momiji and heard the poofing noise, turning away quietly. And yet again there was another poofing noise as Kyo transformed back and scurried off to his room, Tohru blushing deeply and closing her eyes.

"I hope she didn't see anything..." Momiji said, making a slightly disgusted face. Hiro laughed, and nearly knocked the first aid kit off the countertop.

"Ah, here we go!" Hiro said, pulling out a large bandage. He held it up in front of Kisa, and waved it back and forth.

Kisa laughed softly at Momiji's comment and looked over at Hiro with a small smile. Snatching the Bandage wrapping from him, she gently took his injured hand and sloppily wrapped it. But she did try her best.

Hiro turned bright red, and looked away, only to find Momiji giving him a most interesting look. He glared fiercely at the rabbit, but Momiji merely stuck his tongue out at Hiro and laughed.

Yuki walked back in, his face once again holding a surprised element to it. The look was becoming quite commonplace today.

Kisa finally finished and smiled proudly at her job. Looking over at Yuki, she gave him the most curious looking face.

Yuki smiled softly, and shook his head. "I guess it really shouldn't surprise me at all..."

Momiji giggled softly, and closed his eyes, still smiling like an idiot, at least that's what Hiro would say.

Hiro went back to pawing around in the first aid kit for a smaller bandage for her hand, still trying to beat off the redness of his face. But everyone could still tell he was embarrassed, his ears turned color, too.

Kisa smiled at Hiro's blushing and glanced around in every direction, as if she was looking for something. Standing there silently, she stifled a yawn and coughed in the meanwhile.

Momiji frowned slightly, then herded everyone out of the kitchen, flailing his arms about and motioning for them to go sit back down in the main room.

Hiro pulled out a bandage, and grabbed Kisa's hand, pulling it up se he could see the cut. He put the unwrapped bandage next to it and frowned, no, too big. He threw the bandage back in the first-aid kit haphazardly and searched around for another one, not letting go of her hand. Finally he found one just the right size, and unwrapped it. A self-sticking one, great!

He lined it up neatly, and pressed it on gently, not wanting to aggravate the injury farther. He looked back up at her and smiled softly.

Kisa smiled softly still and blushed slightly as he continued to hold her hand. "Thank you Hiro-kun..." she mumbled as se smiled again and closed her eyes.

Hiro's smile widened as he moved his hand enough that he could lace his fingers through hers. "You're welcome, Kisa..."

Momiji was squirming in his seat, trying to resist the urge to look. Now that he had left them alone to their own devices, he was starting to regret it.

Yuki shook his head at Momiji. "It was your idea..."

Smiling softly, Kisa slumped against Hiro, happily. She had longed to see him, more than anyone else when she was in the cage. Thinking about the cage, she shivered slightly.

Shigure looked over at Yuki and Momiji. "I hope he doesn't take away her virginity today..." he grumbled.

Hiro looked once more to make sure no one was watching, and finally wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back fiercely, almost possessively.

Momiji and Yuki both sweat dropped. Momiji flailed his arms about and whined. "Don't talk about Hii-kun and Kisa that way!"

Yuki stood up and thumped Shigure on the head. "That was vulgar, hentai inu."

"What! You never know what they're up to... maybe she's already lost her virginity to him." Shigure joked as he laughed.

Kisa's eyes widened at first, but she was getting used to this kind of embrace from him. Smiling softly, she wrapped her arms around him loosely and closed her eyes, taking in his scent.

Momiji covered his face and faux-sobbed into them. "That's so baaad!"

Yuki nodded and glared at Shigure. "Don't you think they're a little young for being in one of those dirty girl books you write, Shigure?"

Hiro sighed softly, trying not to let the tears that had formed at the corners of his eyes spill down. It almost hurt finally being near her after what seemed like an eternity not even being to see her. Akito could screw himself... er... herself. Whatever.

Kisa accidentally fell into a light sleep, leaning against him, which meant that all her weight was applied. All she wanted to do was be with him and take in his simple scent.

Hiro sweat dropped slightly when he felt her breathing pattern change against him. "Kisa..." He said softly, taking a slightly wider stance to support the extra weight. She didn't weigh that much, but still. He shook her gently, and called her name again.

Momiji sweat dropped back in the kitchen. "It sure is taking a long time..."

Yuki glared back at Momiji lightly, and thumped him on the head. "You need to stop hanging out with Shigure. Forever."

Kisa slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him in silence. "Wha..?" she asked sleepily as she stood up on one leg and looked at him with eyes half open.

Hiro smiled softly, a sweet, yet ever so slightly scornful look. "You fell asleep, Kisa."

Momiji peeked around the corner at the last word, and then leaned back, covering his face with his hands as he shook with laughter at the innuendo he had made in his mind. "He made her fall asleep..." he rasped softly and fell to his knees laughing.

Shigure covered his mouth. "Ohohohoho..." he laughed in his odd way and sighed in relief. "If he can entrance her like that... hmmmm..." he muttered as he sighed.

Kisa shook her head to wake herself up. "Sorry..." she muttered as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Don't be getting any perverted ideas, hentai!" Yuki growled warningly and shot a disapproving look at Momiji, who was still trying to recover from laughing.

Hiro shrugged. "It's alright... it's just a little odd..."

Kisa smiled softly and rested her cheek against his chest slightly, closing her eyes again. "Sorry Hiro-kun..."

Hiro swallowed hard, and lightly touched her hair. "Y- you should probably take a nap, Kisa..." his voice was oddly nervous, and he found himself almost at a loss for words. He had finally realized their position, and the meaning had settled.

"I... I don't want to be left alone..." she muttered, reminding herself of the cage and shivering again.

Well, that provided a problem. "But you seem like you need some sleep... it has been an awfully rough day on all of us..."

"Please don't leave me Hiro-kun..." she muttered as she gripped the hem of his shirt lightly.

Hiro looked at her slightly confused at her actions, but shrugged it off. "I won't I don't think I could... not after what you've been through..."

Kisa looked up at him with sad eyes and sighed slightly. "All right... I'll go to bed..." she muttered as she pulled away from him and wobbled forward slightly, leaning against the wall for support.

He checked the hem of his shirt, wondering why she had gripped it, before remembering about her hurt foot. "Wait, Kisa!"

He walked around in front of her, and sighed. "A thing you shouldn't do is walk on that foot..."

Kisa looked up at him silently and stood up straight. "I'm okay..." she muttered, glancing towards the living room silently.

"You're limping and can hardly stand on your own," Hiro said pointedly, looking at her obvious avoidance of one foot. He sighed, and turned his back to her, and kneeled down. "Hop on..." he sounded almost like it was a routine for him to do it.

"B-But..." she muttered as she looked at him in silence. Silently, she climbed onto his back, wondering if he would be able to pick her up.

With a slight grunt and a little swaying when he stood up to get his balance, Hiro managed to carry her easily out of the kitchen and back towards the bedrooms, which earned him an interesting look from Momiji, and an amused smile from Yuki.

Kisa rested her head against his back with her eyes closed.

"Hmmm.. I wonder what he's going to do with her..." Shigure muttered as he laughed in his perverted way again.

Momiji giggled at Shigure's comment, and Yuki looked in absolute horror at his other two cousins. "I swear..." He grumbled.

Hiro managed to open the door with his foot, as it had not been closed all the way. The interior of the room had either avoided Akito's rage, or been very thoroughly cleaned. He turned around at the side of the bed, and set her down. "There, see? And no hobbling to get here, and aggravating the injury."

Kisa sighed and released her loose grip around his neck. "Thank you Hiro-kun..." she muttered as she flopped over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

Hiro made a move to the door. "You're welcome... have a good rest." He smiled softly at her again, the kind of smile that would melt a diamond. Something that was very rare out of him.

Kisa looked at him sadly and gripped lightly onto his shirt. "P-please..?"

Hiro raised an eyebrow. "Please what?"

"Stay..." she muttered.

He turned slightly pink. "While you sleep? That's a little odd..."


	8. Chapter 8

1Chapter 8

Momiji had run into his room, and came out with a camera. He waved it and grinned.

Yuki sighed. "Are you sure you're not Shigure's SON instead of just his cousin. I swear, Momiji, you act like you've been hanging around with him more than I have to."

Shigure smiled proudly.

"P-please?" Kisa asked as she tugged lightly on the hem of his shirt.

Hiro blushed to the roots of his hair. "Erm... um... I... erm... I guess... so..."

Momiji sat down. "I'll wait a minute for something to actually maybe happen."

Yuki stared in horror at Momiji, and then placed his head in his hands. "I think this FAMILY is more of a curse than the rat is..."

"Yay..." she muttered sleepily as she released his shirt and scooted over sleepily.

Great, Hiro thought softly. This means I have to lay next to her... in a bed... oh man... he slowly, stiffly sat down on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath, trying to slow down the heartbeat he heard pounding in his ears.

Kisa laid on top of the blankets on her back; remembering when Momiji, Hiro, and her slept together before.

Hiro took but an instant more before swinging his legs up onto the bed, and lying on his back next to her, still blushing hard.

"W-What's wrong Hiro-kun?" she asked in a soft voice. "Would you like it better if Momiji-kun slept with us?" she asked as she yawned softly.

Kisa smiled softly and grabbed his uninjured hand with hers lightly.

Hiro sighed, and tried not to let it get to him, instead closing his eyes and searching for the place that would let him sleep.

Kisa fell asleep soundlessly and her small grip on his hand weakened as she released it and turn on her side towards him, curling up slightly.

Hiro yawned silently and finally managed to find sleep.

Momiji, deciding that enough time had passed, walked over to the door quietly, and slid the door open. He found exactly what he had expected to, a cute, heartwarming scene. He shot a quick picture, the ambient light probably being enough for the camera to handle, then closed the door and walked back out to the man area.

Yuki still had his head in his hands. "I can't believe you..."

Kisa slept silently and rolled onto her stomach, closer to Hiro as she pulled her pillow to her, still in her sleep.

Shigure smiled... "I want to see that picture..." he muttered.

Yuki sob/sighed and shook his head. Momiji smiled, and whispered reassuringly to him. "It's nothing, they just looked really cute laying together..."

Shigure sighed. "Darn..." he muttered as he thought of the two

Yuki glared at Shigure. "I'm glad I have more self-control than that damn cat, or I'd have pounded you into next week by now, Shigure."

Momiji giggled.

Hiro moved about a bit as he was pulled into a random and very odd dream.

Kisa felt Hiro moving around and slowly opened her eyes, grabbing the hem of his shirt again and pulling on it softly.

Hiro moved about more, thrashing lightly. He was twisting the events of the last few days around in his dreams, and due to the lack of sleep, amplifying it until it became a very strange nightmare, more horrifying than the one he had lived through earlier.

Kisa became worried and wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could. "H-Hiro-kun..." she muttered as she clung onto him.

Hiro felt something hug him in the dream, and he wondered why it felt so warm and real... maybe it was warm and real... he forced his mind desperately to cling onto it until...

He awoke shivering, cold, covered in a fine layer of sweat, and trembling. He relaxed his entire body for somehow every muscle had managed to coil up, and let himself sag heavily into the bed. "Kisa?" he managed softly, looking down.

Kisa's hand was bleeding through the bandages as she looked up at Hiro with tears in her eyes. Her entire body trembled against his as she held onto him, no matter if there was pain.

He smiled. "You are alive... good... alive..." he muttered, putting a hand against his damp forehead. "Alive... not dead..." he let out a trembling sigh, and stared back up at the ceiling. "Alive..."

Kisa continued to tremble as she hung onto him. "H-Hiro..." she muttered in a shaky voice as she looked up at him, tears still filled in her eyes.

He sighed once more, and then looked down at her. "Yes, Kisa...?"

"Y-You scared me..." she muttered softly as tears flowed from her eyes and she continued to grip onto him, hand bleeding fully now.

Hiro felt something warm and wet from where one of her hands was, and his eyes widened in surprise. "I'm sorry, Kisa... but... I think your hand is bleeding again..." he gently wrapped his fingers around it, and lifted it up enough that he could see it. Sure enough, it was bleeding enough that the bandage had been completely soaked through.

Her hand trembled slightly and she winced in pain as she looked up at him, lip quivering.

Hiro smiled gently again, one of those very rare heart-melting smiles, and motioned to get up. "We should rebandage this..." he squeezed her hand lightly.

Kisa winced again and got up after him, standing on one leg again. He really did scare her just now.

Hiro shook his head. "You don't need to stand up, I'm just going to get another bandage, and I'll be back."

Kisa nodded and crawled back into the bed, still trembling slightly. Closing her eyes tightly, she fell into another sleep, her injured hand hanging off the side of the bed and dripping onto the floor.

Hiro walked out into the living room like someone who had just woken up from a really long sleep, slow and stiff.

Momiji giggled, and waved. "Guten aben, Hii-kun!"

Yuki looked at Momiji, then back at Hiro. "What was that all about...?"

Hiro tilted his head, stopping. "What?"

Yuki frowned. "That noise just now."

Hiro looked away, and sighed. "Nightmare..."

Yuki raised an eyebrow this time. "Who?"

Hiro squeezed his eyes shut. "Me." He walked into the bathroom, and pulled out the first aid kit. He fished around until he found another bandage, before walking back into the room.

His heart stopped for a moment as he saw Kisa lying on the bed like she was, and the blood pooling on the floor. His mind flashed back to his dream. "Kisa?" he asked, slightly panicked.

Kisa didn't answer as she laid there in utter silence, blood still dripping from her hand.

Hiro shook his head slightly, reality coming back into his mind. She was asleep again, and the blood was from her hand. He walked up to her, and shook her, a little harder than he had meant to.

Kisa slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Hiro, blood still dripping from her hand, therefore making her slightly weak. Sitting up slowly she yawned and watched him with barely opened eyes.

Hiro knelt next to the bed, careful not to end up in the small puddle of blood, and lightly began to pick at a corner of the bandage. When it finally came off, Hiro winced at the injury. It wasn't what he would call big, but it sure was bleeding a lot. He let go of her hand long enough to unpackage the new bandage. He took her hand again, and looked at the injury almost fascinatedly. He shook his head, and lightly pressed the new bandage on it. When it was done, he smiled. "Good as new, now just take good care of this hand, or you'll end up re-opening the wound again. Give it a minute and it should stop bleeding."

He moved like he was going to let her hand go, but at the last moment, he picked it back up again, and kissed the bandage lightly, letting his lips linger there for a moment before releasing his grip. "You have to stay well, anyway. I have something wonderful to show you tomorrow morning."

Kisa smiled softly and blushed at his kiss. Closing her eyes once again, she fell into a deep sleep.

Shigure sat there in a stunned fashion and stood up, longing to see what the two younglings were up to.

Momiji inquisitively followed after Shigure.

Hiro sat in place for a moment longer before standing up slowly, and leaning forward to plant a chaste kiss on Kisa's forehead. She was asleep anyway, so he was sure no one had saw...

Shigure had seen Hiro kiss Kisa on top of the forehead and nearly squealed like a rabid fan girl.

Kisa remained asleep and shivered slightly as she lay there.

Hiro heard a noise, it sounded oddly like a click, and stood up, looking towards the door. And surely enough, there was Shigure and Momiji, the latter with a camera and a stupid grin.

Hiro grated his teeth and glared at the two of them, clenching his fist and going after both of them with a low snarl.

Shigure grabbed Momiji and ran off with him quickly, dashing into the study and slamming the door shut abruptly, Kisa remained asleep, seemingly unaffected.

Hiro stalked up to the door to the study, and pounded on it angrily with his fist. "Give me that camera, Momiji!"

Momiji stuck his tongue out at the door and made a very pointed "NEH!" sound at it.

Hiro growled again and pounded on the door more.

Yuki sweat dropped, and went to check on Kisa.

Kisa's eyes opened slowly as she heard the pounding. Lifting her head slightly, she rubbed her hand and looked down at the small blood puddle with a sweat drop.

Yuki looked at the puddle as well, and sighed, leaning back and calling for Tohru. He didn't know where the supplies were to clean the thing up anyway...

Hiro pounded his head lightly on the door, his arm tired. "Give me the damn camera..."

Momiji walked up to the door, and laughed. "No."

Shigure was already engulfed in a fit of laughter.

Tohru wandered downstairs and yawned softly, looking at the puddle on the floor. "I-It's not blood.." she told herself continuously as she got the cleaning supplies and quickly cleaned up the mess.

Kisa looked down at Tohru and then up at Yuki in silence. Yawning softly, she rubbed her eyes and watched Yuki closely. "Where's Shigure-san and Momiji-kun? And Hiro-kun?" she asked, looking around.

Yuki sweat dropped. "Shigure and Momiji are in the study, and Hiro's trying to get in the study." He looked sympathetically at Tohru, and shook his head

Kisa smiled softly and tugged on Tohru's shirt as soon as she was done cleaning up the blood. "Sorry Tohru-nee..." she mumbled softly as she looked up at Tohru. Tohru gave Kisa a very large hug and smiled.

"No problem!" she said in a soft whisper.

Yuki walked back out into the main area, and sat down again, sighing softly. Such was life in the Sohma household.

There was another loud banging from Hiro as he had began using his feet to lightly kick the door. "Give me that damn camera, rabbit, or you'll regret it!"

Kisa wandered out into the hall, lightly grabbed Hiro's hand and tugged on it, pulling him back towards the room. "Stop going after Momiji-kun and Gure-san..." she mumbled as she held onto his hand with one hand and rubbed her eyes sleepily with the other.

From inside, Shigure laughed softly.

Hiro opened his mouth to protest, but then thought better of it, and instead let him be lead away by Kisa, throwing a warning glare at the bright blonde head that now peeked out of the door to the study. A pink tongue flashing in his direction soon answered Hiro. He turned back to Kisa and ignored it, focusing on her again.

Kisa dragged Hiro into the room sleepily while limping and yawned softly. "What did Gure-san and Momiji-kun do?" she asked slowly in a sleepy voice.

Hiro turned slightly pink with embarrassment, and looked away. "Took a picture..."

"Picture?" she asked in a small voice. "Of what...?"

Hiro turned a nice deep shade of red at this that he fought for a moment to control. "Well I..." he finally beat it down to a light rosy color before sighing. He placed his fingers lightly under her chin to hold her head in place as he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the forehead again. He looked away. "That."

Kisa blushed deeply and closed her eyes. "W-Well.. t-that's n-not g-good.." she stuttered.

"Yeah..." Hiro said softly. "So I went after them... sorry I woke you up..."

"That's okay..." Kisa muttered as she smiled softly, still blushing over the kiss on the forehead.

Hiro laid back on the bed, and using his arms to lift his head, glared at the door. "Sneaking in like that..." he grumbled. "Have they no shame?"

Kisa smiled again. Laying next to Hiro, on her back, in silence, she shivered slightly for no particular reason.

Hiro plopped back down and stared up at the ceiling. It was getting awfully dark in the room. A quick glance to the window revealed it to be almost nighttime. "Well, at least the day is almost over..."

Kisa nodded and looked over at Hiro, scooting a little closer timidly. One thing she didn't like much anymore... the dark.

He stretched out on the bed, seemingly not noticing her movement. "We should sleep soon..." He muttered softly. "We have to get up before dawn..."

"We do?" Kisa asked in a small voice as she looked over at Hiro silently and placed her head against his arm.

"Yeah, I told you I had something to show you didn't I?" he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and fumbled with the numbers, casting them both in a soft blue glow as he set the alarm on it. "So we have to get up early tomorrow..."

"Okay..." Kisa muttered as she yawned softly and wrapped her arms around one of Hiro's arms and used it as a pillow temporarily.

Hiro blushed lightly before putting the phone back in his pocket, and laying his head back, staring at the ceiling.

"I love you Hiro-kun..." Kisa muttered, timidly at first as if Akito were to be there.

Hiro's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a smile breaking out on his face, nearly splitting it in two. "I love you too..." he whispered back, not trusting his voice for anything more.

Kisa smiled softly and clung to Hiro again as if she was waiting for Akito to take her away, but Akito was not there.

Hiro looked down at her, raising an eyebrow as much as he could. He was getting tired, and the pre-dawn time for which he had set his watch was going to come very early.

"Something the matter?" He asked softly, yawning at the end of the sentence.

Kisa shook her head from side to side and continued to cling to him, not wanting to let go.

Hiro smiled softly and closed his eyes, yawning again. He moved his arm until he could idly play with a few stray strands of her hair, his tired mind not quite realizing what he was doing, and not even trying to. "Let's just... get some sleep..." he muttered quietly, his speech slightly slurred

Kisa nodded lightly and rested her forehead against his arm, which was a little warmer than usual, but not very hot in temperature. Quickly, she fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

1Chapter 9

"WAKEY WAKEY IT'S MOGETA TIME!" the phone blared as it's alarm. Hiro opened an eye slowly, and reached into his pocket, pulling out the phone and shutting off the alarm. He looked over to the window, and from the crack of sky he could see, he could tell it was just starting to turn gray. He turned back to Kisa, and shook her lightly. "Hey, wake up..."

Kisa slowly opened her eyes and yawned cutely, looking up at him sleepily. "Time to wake up?" she asked in a small voice. Grumbling softly, she buried her face against him again, wanting to fall asleep again.

He blushed lightly, and removed himself from the bed. "Yeah... there's something out there I found a couple days ago that I promised myself to take you to once we got you out of that cage!"

Kisa looked up at him sleepily and nodded slightly, noticing another pair of clothes left by Tohru next to her pillow. Taking the clothes lightly in her arms, she looked up at Hiro and blushed deeply.

He turned a little pink, too, and walked towards the door. He set his hand on the doorknob, and looked back at her. "I'll... wait by the back door..."

He opened the door quietly, and slipped out into the dark house. He managed to find his way to the back door, and grabbed his shoes before slipping out into the cool pre-dawn air. The sky was just starting to lighten. He had picked the right time...

His heart suddenly began to beat fast at the thought of what he was about to do... he was going to show her that wonderful dawn... and...

Kisa dressed quietly and walked out of her room, bundled socks in her small hands. She was currently dressed in a light blue blouse and a blue knee length skirt. Walking over to the back door quietly, she slipped on her socks and slipped her feet into her shoes, knocking them lightly so she didn't have to untie and tie them again.

Walking outside, she accidentally bumped into Hiro and looked up, smiling and somewhat awake now.

Hiro turned back to her and smiled. "Great, come on..." He reached down and lightly grabbed her hand, before leading her back and into the vast forest surrounding Shigure's house. "This place is really nice, but it's a bit of an uphill walk... will your foot be alright?"

"I think..." she muttered as she walked with a slight uncomfortable limp.

Hiro smiled broadly before turning back forward. They walked for a while until after a small uphill slope that took them halfway up some of the smaller trees, they came to a relatively tall cliff. There was a section that had eroded and landslide out of the cliff wall, and made a gentle slope up to the top.

Hiro motioned towards the top of the cliff. "Up there."

Kisa sweat dropped, panting slightly from the walk. Though she continued walking, eager to see what he wanted to show her.

Hiro walked slowly into the dirt slope, his feet sinking in about an inch. He kept a firm hold on Kisa's hand as he scaled the odd slope towards the top. "It'll only take a minute now..." He turned back, and found the sky a pale gray just beginning to be touched by streaks of pale gold and orange. "Ahhh... timing couldn't have been better."

Kisa followed his glance and looked at the sunrise in awe. "Wow... pretty..." she muttered as she stared at the sky in amazement, standing at the top of the cliff.

Hiro sat down at the edge, dangling his legs off the side of the cliff and smiled. "Isn't it, though?"

Kisa nodded and sat down next to him, still watching the sunrise in awe, her eyes glimmering and reflecting the colors of the sky. Hiro kept glancing back and forth from Kisa to the sky. He couldn't decide which one he thought prettier, but either way it was nice.

After a moment passed, a bright scarlet color filled the sky and the golden colors began to deepen and grow, but the odd bright orange seemed to take precedence, and it gave Hiro and idea. He watched the sky for a moment more, trying to gather his courage, and lower his heartbeat so it didn't sound like he had just run a marathon.

Kisa looked at the clouds in a distant manner and tilted her head slightly as she looked through the shapes curiously, spotting different things they had formed.

Hiro took one more deep breath before standing up, and backing up a couple of steps. "Kisa..." He hesitated, why was he so nervous? "C... could you stand up for a moment?"

Kisa looked up at him curiously and stood up, wobbling slightly at first and then resting a little bit of weight on the toes of her injured foot, where she wasn't injured.

Hiro had to stop for a moment as the light had exactly the effect he thought it would. The orange managed to catch her hair, and it flared brightly behind her. It made his next task slightly easier. He walked up so he stood right in front of her, and looked down into her eyes, trying to gather his courage again. He swallowed hard and it was enough for him to overcome his paralysis, and lean forward... enough so that their lips touched softly.

Kisa's entire face flushed as their lips touched and her eyes turned towards his, and she smiled gently.

Hiro squeezed his eyes shut in concentration, and briefly pushed harder into the kiss, before backing up and looking at the sky. The sun was now spilling over the horizon like an ill-cooked egg, and the sky was losing the spectacular deep shades of red and orange and dark gold. Hiro hoped the pale colors would lighten the blush on his face.

Kisa stood there, in shock as she looked forward at Hiro. "H-Hiro-kun..." she mumbled as she smiled softly, still blushing deeply.

Hiro took another deep breath and held it, trying to will away the odd weakness in his knees, and the slightly light-headed feeling he got. If he got this from only a kiss...

He tried twice before he found his voice, and even then it shook uneasily. "I... I have a question... and it might sound really selfish..."

Kisa watched Hiro curiously and tilted her head to the side slightly, the blush in her face simmering down a little.

Hiro faced her once again, and grabbed the front of his shirt, adjusting it nervously. He looked down, to the side, everywhere but at her face for the few precious seconds he needed to form the right words. "I... I want you to stay with me... by me... forever..." he laughed softly, and rubbed the back of his head. "It's a really childish thing to say, I know. But I mean it."

Kisa blushed again and fell to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Of course Hiro-kun..." she said in a happy tone. But then she thought about Haru and a large sweat drop formed on the back of her head.

Hiro smiled gently and returned the hug, letting a sound which may have been a sigh of content leave his throat. But before too long, her realized how long they had been out here.

"Oh..." he shifted so he could pull out his cell phone, and looked at the time. "People should be waking up pretty soon... we should head back."

Kisa smiled softly and released the hug, holding her arms silently behind her back. "Thank you Hiro-kun..." she muttered as she continued blushing. Hiro looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you thanking me?"

Back at Gure's

Hiro was right... the others were waking up one by one. Tohru was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast and actually managing to stay awake.

Momiji snickered as he walked up to the door. Maybe Yuki was right and he really had been spending too much time with Shigure, but when midnight had rolled around and Hiro still hadn't returned, Momiji got very suspicious.

He pulled out the camera, and slowly cracked open the door to the room, getting ready to snap the picture; only to find the bed slightly messy and no one there. "Vas...?"

"For... caring..." she muttered simply as she smiled again and looked around in silence. "But... what about Haru-kun?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

Hiro stiffened up at the mention of Hatsuharu. He bit his lip and sighed. "There's nothing I can do about him..." his shoulders slumped and he looked oddly defeated. "There's nothing I can do about that..."

Kisa laughed softly and hugged Hiro again in a comforting way. "I'll try to convince him..." she mumbled as she looked up at him with her soft orange eyes.

Hiro smiled only half-heartedly. "I... thanks..." He crossed his arms and stiffened up. "Why is it that I'm only awkward around you? Everyone else I can deal with, but you, noooo..." He was just being defensive of himself now, and trying to hide the fact that he wasn't acting like his usual self.

Kisa smiled again. "I feel weird around you too..." she said in an abrupt and straight to the point manner. Bending down, she pretended to be focusing on something on the ground.

Hiro followed her gaze and laughed softly. "All right, enough of this, let's go back before someone has to come looking for us. We've both had search parties sent out for us in the last few days, we don't need them searching for the two of us together."

He held out his hand, smiling down his arm in the most heart melting way he could. He was getting enough practice with it anyway.

Kisa smiled as she held her hands behind her back with a mischievous look on her face. "Here Hiro-kun... have a mud pie..." she told him as she placed a big wad of mud in his extended hand and pursed her lips, trying not to laugh too hard. She had been around Momiji and Haru too much lately.

Hiro didn't look offended. Instead, he smiled evilly, and grabbed her, picking her up awkwardly by the waist and holding her over his shoulder. "Don't make me let go!"

Kisa clung to him tightly. "Hiro-kun!" she yelped as she continued to cling to him, mud dripping from her hands. Her head began to hurt again and she closed her eyes, pausing and not doing anything for a little while. Please... don't... she thought, but it was too late. With a loud popping noise, she transformed into her weakened tiger form.

Hiro held the furry creature away from him, and smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean to get that rough... gomen nasai."

Kisa smiled softly back at Hiro as a small fever was felt from her forehead. "It's okay... Hari-san said I should rest... and I guess I didn't listen..."

He smiled, and picked up her clothes, before carrying both them and her to the edge of the cliff. It was an uneven surface, with random ledges jutting out here and there. The straight drop was easily almost forty feet. Hiro smiled slyly at Kisa, then looked off the edge of the cliff. It was almost the same place he had leapt down earlier. "Let's head back to Shigure-san's shall we?"

Kisa's tail twitched slightly and she turned her gaze towards the view again, sighing before burying her head into Hiro.

Hiro moved his foot so he looked like he was about to step right off the edge of the cliff. Truth was, he just might do it, too. "Oh Kisaaa..." he said in a voice that could only be described as a wicked purr.

Kisa looked out again and looked down curiously. Letting out an uncomfortable squeak, she dug her claws lightly into Hiro's shirt and growled. "Hiro-kun... Why do you have to be so mean?" she whined slightly.

"Because the slope is over there..." he nodded way off to his right. "And Shigure's house is there" he looked to his left. "Don't tell me the tiger is afraid of heights?"

"N-No..." Kisa muttered as her ears swiveled around slightly and she growled. "You're so mean..." she muttered as she closed her eyes and tried to relax again.

He leaned down and whispered softly in her ear. "Only this once... I'll only do it once, but remember that you started it..."

He lowered himself down, and sprung lightly off the cliff.

Kisa hissed loudly on the way down as her rear end lifted into the air, for she was too light. "H-Hiro!"

Hiro landed lightly on his toes, balancing easily on a ledge that was barely three inches wide. "Yes Kisa?" He shifted his grip so he held her quite firmly in his arms, and leapt for the next one, almost ten feet to his left, and about six below the current ledge.

Kisa panted slightly as her stomach felt like it was traveling in circles around her. Turning slightly pale, she clung onto Hiro the best that she could and felt the headache redeeming itself.

The next ledge was wide enough for him to set one foot on sideways, but not enough for him to put another one in front of it to stop him. He craned back expertly, stopping them both before leaping backwards this time onto another ledge, and finally another before leaping off and landing easily on the ground.

He lightly stroked the tiger behind her ears and smiled gently, the odd look on his face from earlier gone. "We're not going to be giving Hiro-kun any more mud pies and hurting his feelings again now are we?" His voice came out gentle and soothing, in a soft low tone that seemed to be very mature from a 12 year old.

Kisa looked up at Hiro with an undecided face. "I-I c-can't... p-promise a-anything..." she muttered shakily as she closed her eyes again, as if she was going to be punished for saying that.

Hiro's smile once again turned slightly wicked. "I know where there's a higher cliff that I just love hopping down, would you like me to introduce you to it?" He began to walk towards Shigure's house, very slowly, trying hard not to jolt her in any way.

Kisa shook her head violently, which gave her yet another headache. Closing her eyes tightly, she waited and hoped that the pain would subside.

His gaze turned very concerned. "Don't shake your head like that..." his tone of voice had returned to normal, even if it did sound slightly strange, even to him. He placed a hand on top of her head, and rubbed it softly. "You're going to give yourself another headache."

Kisa's entire body seemed to relax due to the comforting rubs, which actually made her purr. She fell limp slightly as she fell into a light sleep.

Hiro didn't stop with his hand until he arrived back at the house and had to open the door. Upon entering, he was stared at.

He suddenly realized it; they couldn't see Kisa; all they could see was Hiro walking in to the house with a slight blush, carrying her clothing.

Hiro suddenly wanted to kill both Momiji and Shigure for the looks they were now giving him. Yuki was just looking very serious, and walked up to them, finally finding Kisa in Hiro's arms.

Kisa's breathing was somewhat abnormal and her fever had risen again, which meant it was time for the medicine again.

Shigure looked at the clothing closely. Hmmm ... Girl underwear... he thought, feeling a bit more perverted than usual as he stared over at Hiro.

Momiji stood up with a grin and pulled out the camera. There was a dazzling FLASH just as Hiro turned his glare on the rabbit.

Hiro growled low under his breath, and handed Kisa to Yuki before running off after Momiji and the camera.

Yuki looked down at her and sighed before going to get the medicine. He poured it quietly after setting her back down on the bed, and then shook her lightly before offering it to her. "Here you go Kisa," he said softly, ignoring the loud crash and the following curse, which was obviously from Hiro.

Kisa growled softly at the smell of the medicine and knocked it over abruptly, refusing to take it as it began to spill.

Shigure sweat dropped. "Don't destroy my house! ... Again!"

Hiro finally had Momiji where he wanted him, trapped in a corner. The blonde haired boy looked very nervous, and Hiro smirked, it was probably natural instinct from someone who shared instincts with a rabbit, even subliminally.

Yuki sighed and picked up the cup quickly before all the contents could run out, and then leaned out the door. "Hiro-chan! Kisa won't take her medicine, and you're the only one who knows how to make her do it!"

Hiro stopped stalking after Momiji like a fox instead of a ram, and looked back at Yuki. Momiji took the opportunity to slip away, grinning in triumph.

Hiro walked back in to the bedroom, and looked at Kisa. With a sigh, he reached down, and touched her forehead. "You have to take the medicine, Kisa."

Kisa shook her head again, which brought on a very large headache. Growling softly, she pawed at her own head and remained with her eyes closed, refusing to take the medicine.

Shigure looked over at Momiji and almost started laughing. Tohru was just standing there when it happened, totally oblivious.

Momiji flashed Shigure a wicked smirk, and waved the camera. "All we need now is almost something more."

Yuki shrugged, and walked out of the room. Hiro sighed, and reached for the medicine. He placed two fingers under Kisa's chin, and lifter her head up so she would look at him. He waved the medicine bottle. "You have to take it. That way, you can go back to being in your human form... and..." He stopped, and shook his head. "Just take the damn medicine."

Kisa pressed her head down lightly when she heard him curse at her and looked at the medicine, growling objectively. Finally, she tipped the medicine over again and swallowed it in a disgusted fashion as she curled up into a small ball, trembling and heat radiating off of her.

Hiro sat on the bed, then laid back, placing his arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. "I know it's nasty. But it really is for the best..."

Kisa growled softly again and wandered next to Hiro. Sitting there silently at first, she stared at him. Finally she pounced on top of his stomach, pacing in a small circle before lying down comfortably and closing her eyes once again.

Hiro "oomfed!" quietly at the sudden weight on his stomach before smiling broadly. He laughed softly as a thought occurred to him. "Don't change back like that..."

Kisa fell asleep quickly with her head just above his belly button.

Hiro shook his head and stretched largely, yawning as he did so. If she were to change back... he blushed slightly. He just hoped Momiji wouldn't catch that.

He laid his head back and closed his eyes.

Kisa's fever slowly began to drop, and even Hiro would be able to feel it. Her heartbeat slowed and her breathing went back to somewhat normal. Sleepily, she turned her ear to his stomach and listened to his heartbeat.

Hiro's lips twitched up slightly, as he let himself drift comfortably through the land between sleeping and waking. Once again his hand began to semi-consciously stroke her fur.

Kisa purred softly and fell back to sleep.

Shigure snuck silently over to the door of the guest room and slowly cracked it open, looking over at the two "love birds".

Momiji walked up behind Shigure and was about to say something, when both of them were suddenly in pain, care of Yuki's fist. "Back in the main room you two."

Hiro yawned, momentarily breaking his odd trance before glancing back down at the cat on his stomach. "I hope I do a better job this time..."

He leaned back and closed his eyes, falling back asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

1Chapter 10

Kisa awoke silently and looked over towards Hiro. Remembering yesterday, she smiled softly and blushed at the mere thought of it. Looking back at Hiro, she squirmed slightly, still on top of his stomach.

Movement on his stomach woke Hiro up, and he yawned, looking back down at Kisa. "Comfy?"

Kisa gave a small grin and rested her head back in-between her paws. But yet another loud growl came from her stomach. She had not eaten in a long while. Lifting her head, she glanced around and leapt off of Hiro's stomach and wandered over to the door, pawing at it.

Hiro stood up and stretched, walking towards the door. "Breakfast time already?" He yawned again before opening the door, and walking out towards the main area.

Kisa padded out of the door and peaked her head around strangely. As soon as Hiro got a little ways away, she raced after him and stuck to his left leg like glue, which was an odd sight.

Tohru had already cooked breakfast, but there was a lot left. Shigure had already eaten his full and Kyo had as well.

Yuki sat at the table, sipping tea once again. He regarded the two new additions with a quiet nod. Momiji smiled at them and waved enthusiastically.

Hiro snorted softly. At least the rabbit was acting like normal again. Something about cameras and Momiji didn't mix. He sat down quietly at the table next to the grinning rabbit, and looked pointedly at Tohru. "Well, where's my food?"

Yuki sighed. At least Hiro was back to normal.

"H-Hiro-kun... be nice to onee-chan..." Kisa uttered like she always did.

Tohru peaked around the corner and spotted Kisa in her tiger form. S-so cute! she thought as she tried not to yell. "Y-Yes Hiro-kun..." she muttered as she bowed her head and raced into the kitchen to warm up what was left.

Kyo rolled his eyes. "Brat..." he told Hiro as he stared at him, then glanced at Kisa.

Shigure sighed and shook his head slightly, remembering the incident all too well. Now almost everyone was informed of Akito's secret.

Hiro just looked back from the kitchen, and back down to Kisa.

Momiji wanted to giggle at the cuteness. It was like the two youngest Sohmas were glued together or something.

Yuki merely took another sip of tea.

Tohru rushed out with tea, juice, and breakfast. Setting it down, she glanced at Kisa again, her eyes filling up with that struggle to hold back and snatched Kisa up into her arms, huggling her. "O-Onee-chan... c-can't b-breathe..." she squeaked.

Tohru noticed this and smiled, placing Kisa back next to Hiro.

Hiro ate slowly, watching Tohru out of the corner of his eye. Sure, Kisa had said she wouldn't leave... but he couldn't help but still feel jealous towards Tohru.

Momiji finally giggled, trying hard to hide it behind a hand, but failing quite miserably.

Yuki still sipped his tea.

Kisa sighed and turned to a plate that had some bacon on it. Sniffing it first, she finally sunk her fangs into it and chewed on it hungrily. This was quite unlike her, but she hadn't eaten for a while.

Momiji continued to giggle as Hiro ate his breakfast. There was another moment of not uncomfortable silence until Momiji couldn't hold in the comment any longer.

"Hii-kun's picked up a pet tiger somewhere!" he burst out, laughing.

Yuki raised an eyebrow.

Momiji continued to giggle until he felt the cold, hard weight of an empty plate collide with the side of his head. It bounced off and landed on the floor with a loud thunk, but didn't break. He sniffled and held his head, tears in his eyes as a large, throbbing red bump appeared on the point of impact.

Kyo "hmphed". "At least you can't blame me..." he grumbled.

Kisa looked at shock at Momiji, and turned back to Hiro with the same look.

Shigure sweat dropped. "Don't be breaking my dishes..."

"It didn't break," Hiro said, eyes closed, enjoying his meal. He finished, and set the plate out of the way of everyone else.

Momiji continued to hold his head and cry comically.

Yuki sighed, and shook his head. It was far too early for him to deal with this

Kisa shook her head slightly and another loud POOF occurred, sending Kisa racing back to her room quickly.

Momiji recovered quickly from his injury to watch the clear space where Kisa had once been sitting.

Hiro leaned his head forward, resting his head in his arms, trying to hide his red face.

Yuki looked at him inquisitively, but otherwise said nothing.

Kisa walked back out of her room in pajamas again, her eyes toward the ground and her face deep red. Bowing her head, Kisa continued to blush.

Tohru resisted the urge to hug her and clenched her fists. Rushing over to the table, Tohru grabbed the plates and cup and hurried back to the kitchen, washing the dishes.

Hiro took a deep breath, leaned back, and stretched, trying to look nonchalant about the still fading pink tinge to his cheeks.

Yuki simply went back to his tea. He was being quiet, he knew, but there wasn't much to say right now.

Momiji caught the slight tinge still on Hiro's cheeks, and pounced. "Why're ya blushing, Hii-kun?"

Hiro glared at Momiji. "Mind your own business, rabbit."

Kisa scuttled over to Hiro's side and sat down, lips pursed and blush streaks going away completely already. Playing with her hands in silence, she looked around and noticed Yuki still sitting there in silence. Her eyes scanned the room, which seemed less full due to Akito. Sighing softly, she looked towards the ground again. It's my fault... She thought.

Hiro moved his hand without looking like he did, and stilled her writhing hands with his own. He tried not to let it make him blush anymore, as he leaned to the side, and whispered in her ear. "What's the matter?"

Momiji, for once didn't say a thing. He just looked away with a small smile on his lips.

Yuki excused himself and headed outside, going for his garden. The plants needed a check-up anyway. He called for Tohru before he left. "Tohru, wanna come with me?"

Tohru raised her hand as an answer and rushed towards him. "Secret base?" she asked with a smile.

"I-It's all my fault... Gure-san's house..." Kisa muttered in a soft tone.

Yuki nodded and smiled back at her. "Yeah, secret base. I've been long overdue."

Hiro gave her a soft glare. "If I can't blame myself for what happened to you, then you can't blame yourself for the house. Everything in here is replaceable." He kept his voice low so as not to alert too much attention.

Momiji simply tried not to grin, and instead got up, heading for the kitchen and something more to drink than tea. He wanted juice of some sort

Kisa held her head low still and closed her eyes. "B-But..." she muttered softly as she looked up at him in silence, eyes only a quarter of the way open.

"But what? I'm not letting you get away with it if I can't" Hiro said, sounding a bit like the stubborn little kid he really was. "As soon as you let me blame myself for what happened to you, I'll let you take the blame for Shigure's house."

Kisa held her gripped his hand a little and shook her head violently again, her orange hair brushing Hiro's face lightly.

Hiro twitched his nose at the sensation, and tried not to sneeze. It tickled a little and made him laugh once. He stopped her head with his free hand, and leaned a little closer. "Then it's not your fault, Kisa."

Kisa looked up into his eyes. "And it's not your fault either for me being in the cage..." she muttered as she trembled slightly, thinking about the cage.

Hiro shot one last warning glare at Shigure before smiling at Kisa warmly, and pressing his lips into hers again lightly. He withdrew after but a few seconds, and touched his forehead to hers. "Then let's both stop blaming ourselves, alright?"

Shigure's eyes nearly melted. Luckily, he had a camera with him and caught a moment of that kiss. "OHOHOHOHOHO!" He laughed as he got up and raced into the kitchen after Momiji.

Kisa blushed deeply and nodded, her forehead rolling along with his.

Momiji spun around, looking at Shigure. "What'ya get?"

Hiro turned around, a vein popping out on the side of his head as he shook his fist at Shigure's retreating form. He sighed and relaxed before looking back at Kisa. "Maybe now they'll leave us alone."

"I doubt it..." she muttered as she laughed softly and sighed. "Gure-san is weird..."

Hiro had to laugh at that. "Yes he is..." He shot a disapproving glare at the kitchen before deciding he was bored. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

"Go back to our secret base..." Kisa uttered as she smiled. "But please don't push me off..."

Hiro laughed softly, and looked back at the door. "Alright, I won't. Just no more mud in my hand..." He held out his hand and flexed his fingers at her like he was going to grab her face.

Kisa absentmindedly stuck her tongue out at him. "I can't make that promise..." she muttered as she smiled.

Hiro laughed and stood up, stretching. "Alright then, let's go there."

Kisa stood up and wobbled slightly at first, falling against Hiro. "G-Gomen..."

Hiro hugged her lightly as he caught her, trying to make it seem like he didn't, before letting her go, and shaking his head. "It's fine." He spread his arm out towards the door. "Shall we go?"

Kisa nodded and smiled softly as she grabbed his hand and opened the door, letting the breeze blow against her face.

"You might want to change out of your pajamas!" came Shigure's voice.

Blushing deeply, she looked at herself and ran off to her room quickly in an embarrassed way.

Hiro laughed, he hadn't even noticed that she was still wearing her pajamas. He put his fingers lightly on his forehead and continued to chuckle as he stood by the door, waiting for her to return

Kisa returned in shorts that were a little too big for her and a T-shirt that hung down farther than the shorts.

Hiro laughed hard, trying at first to cover it up, but quickly failing. He wiped a tear from his eye and looked at her. "I think one of my shirts would fit you better than that, too bad I don't have any of my stuff here." He shrugged, still chuckling before motioning outside. "Alright, let's go..."

Kisa nodded silently and blushed deeper as she put on her shoes and followed after him.

Hiro walked quietly alongside her through the restless forest. It seemed everything was very busy today, quite contrary to the slow pace at which he was walking. About halfway to the cliff, he finally broke the silence. "So, why'd you want to come here?"

"Because... I like it... and... because I like being with you..." she muttered as she blushed.

Hiro looked up at the giant mound of dirt that formed the path to the top of the cliff, and then back at Kisa. "But besides talking and bird-watching there's not much we can do..."

He began climbing up it, slowly picking his way to the top.

Kisa smiled. Taking a large clump of dirt into her hands, she threw it at Hiro, but not hard.

Hiro froze when he felt the dirt collide and explode all over his back. He turned back to Kisa, frowning. "Ah huh. You want to take a trip back down the cliff, don't you?"

"I'm already down the cliff!" she yelled as she threw another ball of mud at him and slipped, landing flat on her back in a mud puddle, but the puddle was mainly mud.

Hiro managed to dodge the second ball of mud. When she slipped, he laughed, and sat down on a rock lodged in the loose dirt. He placed his chin in his hand, and rested his elbow on his knee. "You're not a pig, you're a tiger, so get out of the mud and leave that to Kagura."

Kisa picked up another chunk of mud and threw it at him from her position in the mud.

Hiro just dodged that piece as well. "Well, are you coming up here, or am I going to have to go down there, pick you up, and then have to explain to Shigure later as to why we're tracking mud all over in his house?"

Kisa shook her head from side to side and attempted again to hit him with a mud ball. She was already covered completely in mud.

Hiro spread his feet apart, and the mud ball landed harmlessly between them. He gazed at the sky, rolling his eyes in a prolonged gesture. "You throw like a girl. Don't expect to hit me like that."

Kisa's ears, even though they weren't tiger ears, twitched and she sent a large mud ball as hard as she could at his face while he let his guard down.

Hiro put a hand up while his head was still sideways. The aim was true, but his hand was faster. The mudball impacted with it, and sent little flecks of mud everywhere. Some of it hit him, and he grinned down the slope at her. "That was better... I guess you should get something for that..."

He stood up, and dragged his feet along the ground like he was trying to wipe something off the bottoms of them. Or like a ram pawing the ground before charging...

Which is exactly what he did as he lowered his head slightly, and made a run down the slope, focused directly on her.

He slid to a stop in the mud squatting down, legs on either side of her, almost as if he was going to sit on her, and he looked her directly in the eye. "Let's stop this, shall we?"

He grabbed her arms and held them firmly. "I really hate mud..."

Kisa slipped one hand away and tossed a bunch of mud at him quickly, trying to get him muddy.

Hiro stiffened up when he felt the mud impact the side of his face, as his face twisted into a look of displeasure. He silently let Kisa go and stood up, walking back towards Shigure's house. He carefully wrapped himself in a veil of angry silence so as not to be bothered on the way back. "I hate mud... and I hate those stupid kiddy games more..." he growled, safely out of earshot.

Kisa watched him walk off and sat there silently in the mud, and continued to sit there. Finally, after he had well disappeared from sight for about a half an hour, Kisa stood. Making her way back towards the house, or where she thought towards the house was. "H-Hiro-kun?" she asked in a small voice.

Hiro walked into Shigure's house slowly, his shoes already outside. His whole right half was covered in mud, and he looked miserable.

He stepped into the house, and froze for a moment. There, sitting at the table, was Haru.

The ox looked up at him, and raised an eyebrow. "You're awfully dirty..."

Hiro growled and walked into the house, lifting one pant leg so it wouldn't drag on the floor and get it muddy. He saw two duffle bags sitting by a wall.

"I figured you guys'll probably be staying at Shigure's house for a while, so I snuck out some stuff for you, Kisa, and Momiji. The green bag's yours." Haru said, watching Hiro walk past closely.

Hiro looked at him, and only managed a half-hearted "Thanks..."

Haru wondered about that, but shrugged and went back to his drink. "Go take a shower, I know how much you hate mud."

Hiro grumbled but obliged. Momiji leaned his head down from upstairs, and watched Hiro walk quietly into the bathroom. "What's the matter with him?"

Kisa, meanwhile, was still lost in the forest. Walking back to where she started from, she sat next to the puddle and decided to wait for Hiro to come back. If Hiro would come back.

Tohru looked around. "Kisa? Kiiiiisa?" she called as she looked around the house. Stopping by Haru and Momiji, she asked, "Have either of you seen Kisa-chan?"

Hiro stepped into the scalding hot water, and watched the stream of dirt disappear down the drain. His mind idly wandered to thinking if Kisa made it back to the house or not. He never really showed her the way back...

Momiji shook his head. "No, I haven't seen her yet, Hiro just walked in alone..."

Haru frowned, and looked at Momiji. So that was what was out of place. Hiro wasn't velcroed to Kisa's side like he usually was.

Tohru looked around once again. "Hmmm..." she muttered.

Shigure looked over at Momiji. "Do you think they got into a fight?" he asked.

Kisa continued to sit there patiently, strange noises around her making her jump every now and then.

Momiji shrugged, looking towards the bathroom door. "That would make the most sense... but... somehow not, considering how they were acting before they left..."

Haru frowned at Momiji. "And how was that...?"

Momiji, not thinking, just blurted it out. "Well, he kissed her right in front of Shigure..." Momiji suddenly realized a moment too late what he had done, and clamped a hand over his mouth. He looked at Haru and shook his head.

Haru glared at Momiji. "That little fluffball did what?"

Hiro continued to stare at the trail of water as it made its way towards the drain. His vision kept slipping in and out of focus, and the water seemed cooler than it was supposed to. He shook his head, and finished up cleaning.

Tohru blushed slightly at the thought of Hiro kissing Kisa.

"We should have Hiro go after her... unless any of you volunteer?" Shigure inquired as he looked over at Haru.

Haru was about to volunteer going himself, but closed his mouth with an audible clack of his teeth when the more sensible part of his brain told him that Hiro would probably know better where to find her. He walked over to the bathroom door, and pounded on it. "Oi, Hiro! Hurry up, you're going to go get Kisa!"

Hiro glared at the door, but got dressed quickly anyway, stepping out of the bathroom with an apprehensive glare at Haru.

Haru returned the glare. "You have to go find her, Hiro."

Hiro looked confused for a moment. "You mean she hasn't come back yet?" at Haru's slow head shake, Hiro stalked quickly to the door, uttering a loud curse as he got to it and slipped into his half-dry shoes.

Momiji looked at Tohru. "Did you see that?"

Tohru thought for a moment. "See what?" she asked, not knowing what she was supposed to see.

Kisa remained sitting there, tears swelling in her eyes. The mud on her was drying and turning her a completely different color. You couldn't see any of her actually, she looked like a mud man...

Momiji stared at the door, looking really lost. "I think Hiro caught her flu..."

Haru snorted. "Serves him right-"

"For hanging around her so long?" Yuki interrupted. Haru visibly stiffened.

Hiro ran through the forest, his cheeks a bright pink color that had nothing to do with being embarrassed. He was tiring quickly, though, and only barely made it to where Kisa was without having to stop. He looked at her in mock scorn. "Kisa... baka..."

Kisa managed to open her eyes sleepily and look up at him. Soon after she looked up, she looked down and remained sitting there on the ground.

Hiro, still out of breath, furrowed his eyebrows at her. "What's the matter...? He wanted to hit her on top of the head, but seeing the mud puddle, he decided against it. "Come on, let's go back to Shigure's. You need... to get cleaned up anyway... there'll be time for apologies later." He sighed, not wanting to say this, but hoped it would cheer her up. "Haru's there..."

Kisa pretended to be excited, but she really didn't know what she was doing. Standing up, she walked a couple feet away from Hiro at all times.

Hiro led them both back to the house in silence. He opened the door for her, and then sagged against the doorframe. He was still out of breath, and once again his vision kept shifting in and out of focus.

Haru, upon hearing the door open up immediately cheered up, but he frowned and finally laughed when he saw Kisa walk through. "Well, someone's been playing in the mud. I'd hug you, but you're just a touch too muddy."

Kisa looked up at Haru with sad and a little bit of red in her eyes and scurried off quickly to the shower before anyone could see her cry.

Tohru went to Kisa's bag and slid it inside the bathroom for Kisa.

Haru looked after her, slightly confused, then looked at Momiji. The rabbit shrugged, and shook his head.

Haru then turned his gaze on Hiro. But the youngest Sohma wasn't paying attention, he was leaning against a wall, his breathing shallow and his gaze unfocused or concentrated, his cheeks a darker red color.

Hiro squeezed his eyes shut against the pain that suddenly came with all light and sound, and his senses seemed really sharp for no reason.

Kisa wandered over from out of the showers, wearing Capri's and a pink shirt. Walking over by Tohru's side, she looked over at Hiro in silence and then looked down slightly.

Hiro wasn't paying attention as he clutched his forehead against the pain, and found it to be really hot. He stood up away from the wall, and used only his arm to support him. "Yeah yeah, I know... I'm the evil one. I left her in the fore...st..." He took a step forward, and then went to take another step, leaning as if he was still moving. But his legs didn't follow him and he fell forward.


	11. Chapter 11

To all of my readers: Thank you so much for reading my story and enjoying it! I'm glad you enjoy it! Otherwise, I'd be sitting at my desk with nothing to do. Truth is, I've had these chapters ready, though I COMPLETELY forgot my username and password OO; Quite a fright. R and R people!

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba or any of it's characters.

1Chapter 11

There was a loud Poof! as he hit the ground, and the little wooly creature that was once a boy now lay swaddled in his former clothing.

Momiji grinned. "Looks like another illness is going to make its rounds through the Sohma household."

Yuki who had just entered the room stared at Momiji and his happy tone in horror.

Kisa, not fearing anything anymore rushed over to Hiro's side and nearly fell on top of him. Picking him up quickly, she felt his temperature, which was burning up. "I-It's my fault... again..." she muttered in a small voice as she held Hiro in her arms.

"It's not your fault..." Hiro mumbled softly. "You can't help it when you get sick, and you can't help who you give it to..." He was still breathing quite shallowly. He tried to sigh, but it came out as a soft bleat.

Kisa hugged him to her chest. Standing up, she rushed to her room and poured medicine into the cup shakily.

Hiro grimaced as much as a sheep could before tilting his head back. "I can't down that thing in one drink without help." He leaned his head back forward, for the shift in blood flow he could feel from his fever caused him to feel dizzy.

"W-What kind of help?" Kisa asked as she continued to hold him against her.

He sighed again, which once again got chopped up in his throat and came out as a soft bleat. "You have to hold the cup."

Kisa nodded and held the cup shakily. Slowly, she lowered the cup to Hiro's mouth while she held him in her free arm.

Hiro drank the foul substance as quickly as he could. He snorted, and his head shook slightly, involuntarily, which somehow made him want to sneeze, and so he did.

Pain exploded behind his eyes in a flash of multi colored stars in front of them, and he pushed himself as hard into Kisa as he could, as if she could somehow magically make the pain go away.

Kisa looked down at him in silence and kissed the very top of his head and stroked his soft fleece in a soothing manner.

Hiro nuzzled lightly against her for a moment, before deciding that sleep sounded really good at the moment.

"Kisa... the bed... I wanna sleep..." he muttered softly, his voice muffled by the fact he now had his face buried in her shirt.

Kisa smiled and stood, walking over to the bed. Lifting the covers, she slipped him underneath and turned around, making her way to the door.

"Aw... you're going already...?" He asked softly, turning his head so he looked at her. "Well, I suppose if you wanna leave me here all alone, then good night for now."

Kisa smiled and walked back over, crawling under the blankets and cuddling Hiro to her chest.

Momiji closed the door quietly, sticking his tongue out at everyone. "Someone might wanna call Hari-san and have him come over tomorrow."

Yuki nodded, and went for the phone.

next day desu

Hiro slowly opened his eyes, the light causing a pain to flare to life behind his eyes. He squeezed them shut again before scooting back into the warm presence behind him. He panicked for a moment, trying to figure out who was with him, but his tired, aching mind remembered last night. He wanted to smile. He should really be sick more often.

Kisa continued to sleep with her arms loosely wrapped around Hiro. "H-Hiro-kun... p-please... get better..." she mumbled in her sleep.

Yuki woke up early, and settled himself in at his usual spot at the table, waiting for the rest of the house to wake up.

Momiji had his head buried under his pillow and was cursing in German.

Haru, sharing a room with Momiji again, was snoring loud enough that it echoed.

Hiro simply willed himself to go back to sleep, snuggling up even closer to Kisa. Yes, he would definitely have to get sick more often.

Kisa clutched Hiro to her chest and closed her eyes tighter, tears rolling from them and dropping lightly on top of Hiro's snout.

Kisa slowly opened her eyes and looked down at Hiro, tears still swollen in her eyes. "H-Hiro-k-kun..." she muttered softly as she clung to him tightly, sobbing into his fur and trembling slightly.

Hiro pushed his nose into the side of her face, and whispered softly. "What's the matter...?"

He closed his eyes against another wave of vertigo, but didn't move his head.

"I... I... I was so... so scared... I'm so sorry..." she whimpered as she trembled again.

"Scared...?" Hiro asked softly, confused. "And why are you sorry?"

"I... I didn't know... If you would... would... make it... And I wouldn't be able... to apologize... for throwing mud at you... and making you sick.." she whimpered, her voice barely heard.

Hiro wished desperately right now for him to be in human form so he could hug her properly, but it wasn't going to happen, so he would have to make due. "And what made you think for a moment I was going to give up on you so easily? The mud I will accept the apology for, but the flu I will not. Besides, it's technically my fault for staying so close to you..." His words faded at the end, and he slumped back up against her, his breathing shallow. "Talking... is tiring... stop apologizing..."

"I... I'm sorry..." she muttered but after that she pursed her lips and held Hiro close to her again.

Hiro just snorted, and moved so he could bury his face in her shoulder. "I suppose I should take some more medicine."

Kisa nodded in agreement and reached for the medicine and cup. Standing up with Hiro in her arms, she tilted his head back and fed him the medicine.

Hiro snorted again, and scraped his tongue along his teeth to try and get the vile taste off of it, but it didn't work. He just made another bleating sigh, and nestled back up against her again. "Hasn't anyone called Hari-san yet? I'll bet he has some way to get rid of this damn thing faster..."

He pawed at the front of her shirt with his hoof, and motioned to the door. "We should go find out."

Kisa nodded slightly and wandered out of the room with Hiro still in her arms, and saw Shigure standing there quietly. Covering Hiro's eyes, she protected him from the flash, but blinded herself accidentally.

Haru scoffed at the image now present to himself. "Oh look, the sheep so trustingly lets the tiger take care of him. Aren't you afraid, Hiro?"

Hiro didn't even need a second to come up with a retort. "Wolves eat sheep. Tigers eat cows. And since there are obviously no wolves in here, the one in the most danger right now is you."

Haru snorted. "At least the little pain-in-the-ass hasn't lost his sharp tongue."

Momiji sweat dropped at Haru. "So, how're ya feeling Hii-kun?"

Hiro looked at Momiji, cracking an eye open. "Like I got hit by a freight train, but other than that I'm fine."

Kisa smiled softly and looked over at Haru with a strange look on her face. Why would I eat Haru-kun? she thought as she tilted her head slightly.

"Erm… We were wondering if anyone called Hari-san…" she muttered in a somewhat question.

Yuki walked in from the kitchen with a smile. "I called him last night. He said he'd be here when he could."

Hiro sighed, and squeezed his eyes back shut, pushing his head into the side of Kisa's neck. He'd figured out a while ago that the curve of her neck fit the shape of his face in sheep form, so he could keep his eyes comfortably hidden. "That's good..."

Momiji giggled. And pulled out a camera.

Haru, who had started to glare at Hiro, continued doing so. Yuki sweat dropped.

Kisa looked over at Momiji with an innocent look and closed her eyes as the camera flashed. Stumbling backwards slightly, she rubbed her eyes with her free hand and looked over at Shigure, who set off another flash, making her fall backwards.

The impact jarred Hiro's head into throbbing violently, and he cried out softly, tensing up. His breathing once again turned shallow, and a little bleating whimper could be heard at the end of every breath. "I... Itai..."

Haru walked up to Momiji, smacked him on the head, and took the camera. Momiji began to cry whiningly. The noise wasn't helping Hiro's head much, and he flattened his ears as best he could to block out the sound.

Yuki shook his head, and looked sympathetically at the trembling Hiro.

Kisa looked down at Hiro. "Gomen… Hiro-kun…. Daijobu ka?" she asked in a small voice as she continued to hold Hiro, her back throbbing slightly from the landing.

Hiro pressed himself into her harder, still whimper-bleating slightly. "It hurts... oh... itai..." His fever, which had subsided over the night, came back with a vengeance, and it made him feel worse.

At first Kisa sat there in the most confused manner. Feeling his temperature, she stood up quickly, which gave her a large headache. Ignoring her headache, she began to pace around uneasily, not knowing where anything was.

There was a slight knocking at the door, and it was….. Hatori.

Yuki walked over to the door, and answered it, letting the doctor in.

Momiji cheered quietly, after finally figuring out what was making Hiro feel worse.

Haru kept a close eye on Momiji and guard on the camera.

"Stop moving, Kisa," Hiro said softly, his voice sounding hoarse and quiet.

Kisa froze in mid-step and looked over at the door where Hatori stood, sweat dropping.

"Do I need an explanation?" Hatori asked aloud.

"Maybe that wouldn't be very smart Hari-saaaaaaaan." Shigure uttered as he smiled.

Hiro beat back a blush. He didn't need any more blood pounding through his head right at the moment. Through force of pain alone he succeeded.

Miji grinned at Hari and shook his head. "I'd love to tell you, but not now."

Haru looked pointedly at Momiji. "You're telling me, too."

Miji grinned back at Haru. "You can ask them yourself."

Haru glared at Momiji.

Yuki sweat dropped.

"I… I…. I'm confused…" Kisa muttered as Hatori, Shigure, and Tohru sweat dropped.

Momiji just kept smiling. It was obvious he wasn't going to tell anything.

Haru suddenly looked confused.

Hiro moved his way around enough that he could turn one eye on the good doctor. "About time, Hari."

Hatori sighed. "I do have other patients you know…" he informed Hiro as he walked over. So… the medicine has not been working?" he asked out in the open.

Kisa looked down at Hiro in silence and sort of shook her head and sort of nodded as if still unsure.

Hiro looked back at Hari, sort of half-glaring. "How long is it supposed to take before you notice the effects?"

Yuki went into the bedroom, and came out with the medicine bottle. "We might need a refill soon. What with both of them being sick, and the almost certain chance the rest of us'll get it as well..." Yuki muttered, almost as if he was talking to himself. He really wasn't looking forward to getting sick.

Hatori gave a sigh and pulled out some more medicine out of his coat. "I thought that would be an objective…" he mumbled as he gave Hiro a blank stare. "In about a half hour…"

Hiro tilted his head slightly, but instantly regretted it. "What about in a half hour?"

"The medicine should kick in within a half hour…" he informed Hiro as he looked over at Kisa and then looked around the room. "Anyone else feeling sick? Other than Shigure and his back problems…"

"Yeah," Hiro snapped, looking at Momiji. "Do you have a cure for the shutterbug?"

"Take away the camera..." He muttered as he looked at Momiji and then to the snickering Shigure. "Shigure... How much have you rubbed off on him?" he asked.

"NOT AT ALL!" Shigure lied as he rubbed the back of his head and sweat dropped.

"How about a lot," Hiro muttered miserably, hiding his face back up against Kisa.

Momiji snickered, precisely the lecherous snicker of Shigure.

"Case and point, I suppose," Haru said, glaring at Momiji.

Yuki sighed. Today was going to be another long day.

"Well… you should all be drinking fluids and eating healthy things in order to not get sick…" Hatori suggested as he looked over at Tohru.

Momiji laughed this time. "Don't worry about us. We'll just lock them both in the room until they get better."

It was a friendly suggestion, and meant as a joke, but the way people stared at Momiji made him quickly come to realize that they weren't thinking that way.

Especially not Yuki and Hiro.

"We're not locking anyone anywhere," Hiro growled very pointedly.

Just really hearing the words "Locking Up" made Kisa's arms shake lightly. She knew that this was meant as a joke, but she couldn't help but think of the cage and let her bangs cover her face.

Tohru, Shigure and Hatori looked over at Kisa and sighed, Shigure and Hatori giving Momiji a small stare.

Momiji cowered back, looking suddenly quite humble at the weight of four people's stares. "Gomen..." he squeaked.

Yuki looked away, and headed back towards the kitchen to get something to drink. Hiro tried for the umpteenth time to relax himself.

Kisa held her eyes closed and then looked up with a small smile. "Hiro-kun… Do you want to go to bed?" she asked as she looked down at him with her soft orange eyes.

Momiji and Haru both heard what Kisa said, and both had different reactions to the same thought.

Momiji began giggling in much the same lecherous way Shigure did. "Go to bed, eh?"

Haru, at almost the same time, raised an eyebrow. "Bed?"

Hiro gave a death glare to the both of them. "Not like that, baka!"

The sudden effort was enough for his flu to flare back up, and he slumped down in Kisa's arms, teetering dangerously on the brink of unconsciousness.

Kisa hugged Hiro to her chest and sighed. "Hiro-kun… be quiet…" she told him as she looked down at him quietly.

Hiro wanted to say that he could hardly move, but as soon as he thought it, the thought slipped out of his grasp, as did most of his cognitive reasoning. He closed his eyes, staring into the abyss, which was unconsciousness.

Haru stood up, and made for the door. "Well, I'm out. I'll be back within the next couple of days when both Hiro and Kisa are feeling well enough not to be all over each other." The last part of his sentence was said with an odd tone of what might have been jealousy.

Momiji laughed softly, before waving at Haru. "See ya, Haru-kun!"

Yuki nodded at Haru as he walked back out of the kitchen holding a cup of juice.

Kisa waved to Haru as he left and wandered into the room where she gently laid Hiro in the sheets. Wandering over to the door, she muttered, "Oyasumi Hiro-kun…" as she left the room and wandered back to where the others were, plopping down at the table, Kisa put her head in her arms and sighed, her eyes feeling dry and heavy.

"Aren't you going to sleep as well?" Momiji asked softly, looking concerned.

Momiji spoke too late. Kisa was already fast asleep with her head in her arms on the table.

Momiji sweat dropped. "Kisa-chan? Oh well... Yuki, take her... I'm off to bed as well."

"What?" Yuki asked, but Momiji was already halfway up the stairs. He looked down at Kisa, and shook her lightly. "Hey... wake up..."

Kisa slowly opened her eyes only a crack and looked meekly up at Yuki. "Y-Yuki-kun… ?"

"Time for bed, Kisa..." He said softly, grabbing her, and pulling on her to get her to stand.

Kisa stood up and yawned softly, rubbing her eyes as she wandered over to her room. Entering silently, she muttered, "Oyasumi..." to Yuki and entered her room, sitting at the base of the bed and falling back asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hiro turned over, slightly restless in his sleep. Something was missing in his half-cognitive mind, and in his dreams, but he couldn't tell what. Something... no, it was something. He was missing someone. There was no one around, and the sudden feeling of loneliness scared him.

He was surrounded by darkness, with something laughing at him. He didn't like it... at all...

Kisa fell over onto her side with a slight thump on the floor. But still she was asleep.

Hiro continued thrashing about on the bed, lashing out against the invisible demons that were haunting him in his dreams. The dream that just kept getting weirder.

Kisa slowly opened her eyelids to reveal the deep orange color. Standing up, she looked over at Hiro, watching him thrash at first. Silently, she pulled him into her arms, and gently rocked him back like a mother. Stifling a small yawn, Kisa watched Hiro intently with half open eyes.

Hiro, suddenly feeling something grab him, began panicking, and he kicked out against it. His feet connected with something hard.

He didn't know what it was, so he kept fighting against it, until he felt something familiar. It smelled like predator... but more familiar than that, and as he finally drifted towards waking, his mind finally managed to calm him down.

Kisa grimaced as Hiro's hoof impacted her ribs, knocking the wind out of her. "H-Hiro-k-kun… C-Calm down…" she muttered uneasily as she gripped her side with one hand and gasped for air.

Hiro's eyes snapped open at the voice, and he struggled to get away from her, the adrenaline still present from the earlier dream. He was scared, and his first instinct as to flee.

Kisa gently put him back down and coughed, leaning against the wall. The sheep had more kick in him than she knew. "H-Hiro-kun… It's okay…" she muttered as she looked at him with one eye opened.

She's a predator, she's got you... was the only thought in Hiro's pained, sick, fevered sheep mind, and he ran until he nearly collided with the opposite wall. He stopped suddenly, and turned to look. In his fuzzy, melded vision all he could see was a mass of orange, and the smell of big cat.

Sliding down the wall, Kisa sat there, huffing slightly, still trying to regain her breath. "H-Hiro-kun… D-Daijobu… ka?"

Hiro's eyes widened as he realized that this wasn't still a part of his dream. That he wasn't about to be eaten by a giant tiger... no...

He sighed and collapsed on the ground, staring miserably at the wall, and trying not to cry. He had hit her... He had hurt her... he had...

Kisa's side stung slightly as she stood up, her breathing still abnormal. "H-Hiro-kun….. daijobu ka?" she asked against as she winced and walked towards him.

"Do I look like I'm alright?" Hiro asked, slumped completely on the ground, looking like a discarded stuffed toy. "I just can't do anything without you getting hurt, can I?"

"G-Gomen." Kisa muttered as she bowed her head and walked over to him, picking him back up into her arms, even though it hurt her to breathe.

Hiro tried to struggle weakly against her. "No... It's my fault. Maybe this was never supposed to work..."

Momiji, who had come to the door hoping for another shot, heard them in there. He sighed, and leaned his head against the closed door. "Don't give up yet, Hii-kun... not after all that..." he mouthed, not making any other sound.

"N-No… Don't say that… If you say things like that… I might have to go back to the cage." She muttered softly as tears swelled in her eyes. She let out a harsh cough and grimaced, holding a hand to her injured side. "A-Accidents happen…."

"Yeah.." Hiro said softly. "And how many have happened between the two of us when we're together so far?" he shook his head. "Far too many..."

"I… I'm sorry… I'll try not to get in trouble as much…" she muttered softly as a small tear dripped from her eye and dripped on top of Hiro's head.

"No..." Hiro said softly... "I'm the one who seems to be getting you into trouble. Knock that off..."

"I'm sorry…" she muttered again before falling silent. Kisa wandered over to the bed and placed Hiro back down. "I will be right back…" she promised him as she walked towards the door.

Hiro nodded softly, before laying his head down, and sighing softly.

Kisa wandered over to the door, opening it and finding Momiji standing there. Giving him a small smile, she walked past him, towards Hari. Hari inspected the wound and sighed.

"You'll be fine… It's bruised and it will be a little hard to breathe for a while…" he informed her.

Hiro curled up, and sighed, still feeling miserable that he had kicked her more than once.

Momiji turned red as he nearly fell through the door, and then walked into the room. "How's the illness Hii-kun..." the rabbit walked over to the sheep, and pressed a hand to Hiro's forehead. "Your fever's died way down. That's good."

"Good... whatever..." Hiro mumbled squeezing his eyes shut.

Momiji smiled. "Kisa seemed to be injured... what happened?"

Hiro tried to snuggle harder into the pillow and disappear as he mumbled his response. "I kicked her..."

Momiji raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Hiro sighed. "I had a nightmare. I smelled predator. I kicked."

Miji smiled. "Aw, that's not so baaad..."

Kisa stood by the door. "It's okay Hiro-kun… It was just an accident…" she told him again as she tried to resist holding her hand to her injured side. Stifling a small yawn, Kisa smiled softly at Hiro.

Momiji ruffled the soft fleece on top of Hiro's head, and crossed his arms. "Oh, he's a stubborn old goat. It'll take a lot of convincing to get him to stop that."

Hiro growled as much as a sheep could, before jumping to his feet. "Who are you calling a goat, rabbit?"

Momiji smiled happily at Hiro. "See? Stubborn!"

Kisa smiled softly and couldn't help but laugh this time. Wincing slightly as she did so, she clutched her side. "Hiro-kun is stubborn…" she repeated as she stood up as straight as she could and smiled.

Hiro looked away suddenly, trying not to blush. He sat back on his haunches and avoided looking at either of them.

Momiji walked past them to the door, smiling and waving. "You should work on that, Hii-kun."

Hiro just continued staring at the bed sheets. He still felt sick, but it really was getting much better. He looked at Kisa. "I should probably take more medicine."

Kisa nodded, understanding as she walked over to the medicine and poured it into the cup. Sitting beside Hiro in the bed, she smiled, very aware of her side. Picking up Hiro loosely, she tried not to press him against her ribcage as she gave him the medicine.

Hiro swallowed the vile substance as quickly as he could, grimacing as he finished it, and then sat back down on the bed. He looked at his back hooves, then over to Kisa's ribs, and sighed. "That hurts, doesn't it...? I hope it's not too bruised and'll go away soon."

"It's all right Hiro-kun…" she told him as she tilted her head to the side slightly. Petting Hiro's fleece, she smiled and rested her head next to him. Yawning softly, she stayed off of her side and smiled at Hiro reassuringly.

Hiro looked back at Kisa, trying not to apologize. If he was in human form, he would've probably kissed her right now. If he was in human form-

POOF!

And suddenly, he was practically sitting on her in human form. Which was made worse by the fact that he was naked.

Kisa blushed deeply and spun around, smacking into Hatori with her injured side and grimaced slightly. Hatori seemed to be popping up out of nowhere!

Hatori sighed at the sight of Hiro and grabbed his clothes, tossing them to him and then looking down at Kisa. "Are you all right?"

Kisa nodded and waited before Hiro told her it was okay to turn around.

Hiro quickly dressed himself, before standing up, blushing furiously. "Gomen... you can look now..."

Kisa waited a few seconds before turning back around, face flushed deeply. "I… It's okay…" she muttered softly as she bowed her head. Hatori merely smiled and looked over Hiro.

"Are you all right?" he pondered.

Hiro laughed nervously. "Yeah, I'm just hoping she didn't see... anything..."

"I..I didn't… I promise!" she yelped, still blushing deeply. Hatori smiled and left the room by force, leaving the two buy themselves as he was dragged away by Shigure.

Hiro laughed nervously again, rubbing the back of his head. "Okay then. I feel a little better hearing that... I didn't mean to almost transform right on top of you. I should've felt it coming," His voice held a hint of shyness.

"I…It's all right Hiro-kun…" she muttered softly as she continued to blush.

"Alright, as long as you're alright with it," Hiro said softly. He wanted to run over to her and hug her and pick her up... but... he didn't know.

Kisa smiled softly and looked up at Hiro quietly. "Soo... This means you are feeling better?" she asked as she put her hand down, trying not to make him feel guilty by having her hand on her side.

Hiro shrugged. "Who knows. Apparently the ram thinks I'm well enough. Ram..." he laughed, almost bitterly. "I meant the lamb."

"T-That's good…" she said in a nervous tone as she smiled again, blushing as she thought about what had happened just a moment before.

Hiro felt well enough to pounce upon the blush and poke just a little fun at her. "What's the blush for, Kisa?" he laughed softly, not taking his eyes off of her as his voice lowered. "Are you sure you didn't see something you liked?"

"I promise Hiro-kun!" she yelped as she blushed deeper, trying to push the details out of her mind.

Hiro strode idly up to her, and leaned over until he could whisper in her ear. "I never said it was a bad thing..."

Kisa looked up at him, still blushing. Lifting a small hand, she rubbed her cheeks as if she could rub the blush marks off.

Ah, this was really starting to be amusing now. Hiro laughed lowly, making him sound older than he was. "But it's so cute when you blush... don't stop..."

Kisa blushed a little deeper this time and a small sweat drop formed at the back of her head. "I.. I'm sorry…" she muttered softly.

Hiro laughed and shook his head. "I really don't understand you... you really don't need to apologize for something I didn't even know you did."

Kisa sighed softly and began to try to rub the blush streaks away, ignoring the harsh pain in her side.

Hiro looked at her sympathetically, before reaching a hand out, and barely touching his fingertips to her bruised ribs. "It hurts a lot... doesn't it?"

Kisa froze when she just barely felt his touch. She didn't answer as she bowed her head slightly and looked down at his hand.

"It does hurt..." Hiro said sadly, not moving his hand. He wasn't even thinking about doing it. His voice carried a hint of sadness and regret when he spoke again, "I wish I could hug you right now..."

Kisa smiled softly and looked up at him in silence. "It's all right Hiro-kun… It was an accident…" she said yet again.

"I know, I know..." he snapped, looking to the side. "But I can't help but feel guilty. Don't say anything! I know.."

Kisa smiled, and even though it hurt her, she hugged him lightly, grimacing at the pain and trying to hide it. "I-It doesn't hurt too bad…" she muttered, not much of a liar.

Hiro clicked his tongue at her, pulling away from the hug quickly to spare her more pain. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, before moving away to sit on the bed. "You're bad at lying, Kisa."

"I'm sorry…" she muttered again. Noticing that she was apologizing, she covered her mouth. "I'm starting to sound like Ritsu-kun…" she mumbled from under her hands. Sighing softly, she looked over at Hiro, the pain in her side subsiding slightly.

Hiro made a face, and looked at her. "The last thing I need to compare you to is that damn monkey," he said quickly, spitting out the words as if they tasted bad. He stopped himself, and took a deep breath. He wouldn't lose it now.

Kisa smiled softly and sighed, rubbing her side lightly. It's as if the wound wanted her to touch it, which would only spread the pain.

Hiro stood back up, and made his way to the door. He opened it, and looked back at her. "Breakfast?"

Kisa nodded slightly and followed after him, but when she reached breakfast, she hardly touched her food, face still flushed as she thought of him transforming back.

Tohru watched Kisa blush and looked over at Hiro. "Hiro-kun… Do you know why Kisa-chan is blushing?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

Hatori merely sat there and ate his food, thinking about what had happened.

Shigure was begging that he would have been there while Hiro was 'Pulling the move' on Kisa. Well, that's at least what he thought had happened.

Momiji kept looking back and forth between Kisa and Hiro, a sly smile spreading ever wider on his lips with every pass.

Yuki looked a little confused for a moment, but realized something must have happened, and he hid a chuckle with a well-timed cough.

Hiro blushed, and looked away from Tohru. "That's none of your damn business..." but then his mind clicked that she might think something more happened, so he grabbed the front of her shirt until she was dangerously close to touching him and said as menacingly as he could, "She saw me transform back..."

"Hiro-kun… Don't hurt onee-chan…" she told him as she stood up and grimaced slightly at the fast movement, falling to her knees on the floor, regretting what she had done.

Tohru nodded; sweat dropping, as she didn't even try to pull away from him.

"Don't tell anyone..." Hiro whispered softly, letting go of Tohru and looking back at Kisa, concerned.

Momiji's grin was neigh splitting his face in two.

Yuki chuckled, and this time couldn't hide it.

Tohru sat down in silence, trying not to stare at Hiro.

Kisa remained on her knees and merely sat there, acting like nothing had happened.

Hiro glared one last time at the stupid woman before turning back to the table. He noticed Momiji and his huge lecherous grin and frowned. "Nothing happened." He said matter-of-factly.

Momiji giggled. "Yeah. I believe you."

Hiro glared at Momiji harshly, wishing the rabbit would burst into flames.

Kisa smiled softly and sat there. For a short moment, her eyes were dulled, and then she thought of one thing. "School…. What is Akito-sama finds out that I went to school? Or will I go to school?" she asked in a small voice.

Shigure sat there in silence, thinking of the predicament.

Hiro folded his arms across his chest and declared boldly, "I don't think you should go back. Besides Akito finding out, they tease you there about your won... about your hair."

Momiji nodded. "I agree with Hii-kun... but what was that little slip about her hair?" The rabbit grinned slyly.

Once again Hiro wished his cousin would spontaneously ignite so he could leave him alone.

Kisa sighed and looked at Hiro. "But that means Hiro-kun will go to school?" she asked as she tilted her head slightly.

Hiro shrugged. "Who knows... I might go so they don't call my house and wonder where I am... but... I kinda don't want to any way."

"Education is important," Momiji said, imitating an old man's voice.

For some reason, Hiro was really irritated with the rabbit today.

Kisa sat there silent again and looked around. Due to this problem, almost everyone seemed in a thinking mood, until she looked at Tohru, who was staring straight at her in the weirdest way.

Tohru nearly melted when she looked at Kisa. Smiling, she decided to lighten the mood. "Anyone want a lollypop?" she asked with a grin. Kisa was by her side almost instantly with her hand on the bottom of Tohru's skirt.

Hiro stiffened up seeing Kisa with that woman, but he reminded himself of what the young tigress had said to him on top of the cliff. So instead he went back to glaring at Momiji.

Momiji picked up another camera, this one different from the one Hatsuharu stole, and took a flash picture of Hiro.

The sheep nearly knocked the table over as well as Yuki and Shigure as he sprinted after Momiji. The rabbit got up and ran lightly away, speed not a problem for him.

Once retrieving her lollypop, Kisa wandered after Hiro and when he ran past her she lightly gripped onto the hem of his shirt. "Hiro-kun…" she muttered as she held out a lollypop for him and smiled.

Hiro stopped instantly and Momiji giggled as he got away. He looked over to Kisa and his heart nearly melted.

He smiled and took the lollypop. Momiji took a picture just as Hiro's hand brushed Kisa's.

The ram glared, and got ready to chase after the rabbit again.

Kisa sucked on her lollypop and looked over at Momiji with an innocent look. "Momiji-kun…" she muttered as she walked over to him and tugged on Momiji's shirt, as if holding him there. Smiling softly, she gave him and lollypop.

Momiji took it with a broad grin, and quickly unwrapped it so he could taste the sickeningly sweet goodness.

Hiro, also eating one (though he was chewing on his), glared sullenly at Momiji, knowing he could no longer do anything.

While standing next to Momiji, Kisa grabbed the camera and clicked the button, making a large and bright flash in Momiji's eyes. Standing there in silence, her eyes got watery and she muttered, "I'm sorry Momiji-kun…"

Momiji blinked owlishly, shaking his head as he tried to rid his eyes of the sudden spot that danced before them.

Hiro snickered, as Momiji fell on his rump, still looking dazed.

Yuki, watching the whole thing shook his head, and held his forehead.

Kisa looked at the camera and clicked it again curiously, blinding herself as she fell backwards.

Hiro managed to bolt over to her side in time to catch her as she fell, ending up behind her with his arms around her waist, purposely too low to miss her ribs. The position itself, however, was incriminating.

Momiji wiped at his eyes, the bright flash glare in his eyes finally subsiding. He looked up and saw his younger cousin's position, and reached for the camera, cursing lightly in German when he remembered Kisa had it.

Kisa looked up at Hiro and blushed slightly as he held her, but she was glad he caught her.

A loud click and flash was heard/seen as Shigure had whipped out a camera and shot a picture, laughing hysterically.

Momiji gave Shigure the big thumbs-up at the flash.

Hiro turned red, and looked away, releasing his hold on Kisa.

Yuki smiled in amusement. That was a new one.

Kisa thumped slightly on the ground and winced, looking up at Hiro, her head by his feet. Blushing deeply, she turned her head with her eyes slammed closed.

Momiji pounced on this one. "What's that for Kisa-chan, did you see up his shorts?"

Yuki tried to hide a laugh behind his hand. That, he had to admit was funny.

Hiro just looked at Kisa, confused.

Kisa shook her head violently, still blushing.

"Ehhhhhhhh?" asked Tohru, oblivious at the moment.

Momiji walked up to her, and looked down. "Then why are you blushing?"

Hiro glared at Momiji, before remembering his manners and holding his hand out to Kisa. "Stand up..."

Yuki looked at Tohru and smiled gently. "Think, Tohru..."

Tohru had finally gotten the idea and blushed. "Wha!" she yelped as she continued to blush.

Kisa gently placed her hand in Hiro's and winced as she was pulled to her feet. Instinctively, she gripped onto her side with one eye closed.

Hiro looked at her sympathetically, and lightly touched the hand she was using to cover her ribs. He shook his head, wanting to apologize, but not wanting to get into another argument about it.

Momiji wished like crazy that he had a video camera at the moment.

Kisa looked over at Momiji with her adorable orange eyes. Looking back at Hiro with the same eyes, she smiled softly and continued to suck on her lollypop.

Hiro blushed lightly, and looked away, trying not to look too conspicuous, and he didn't move his hand from its place over her bruised ribs.

Momiji sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. He wanted his camera back at the very least, but getting it from Kisa would put him within arm's reach of Hiro.

Kisa held onto the camera with one hand and took a picture of Momiji pouting, smiling softly. Suddenly, the camera made a whirring sound, meaning it was out of film, and making Kisa drop it in shock.

Hiro and Momiji both dove for it, and ended up colliding halfway there, as Hiro had to go around Kisa, and Momiji had the distance to travel. They both wrestled and fought for it, knowing that whoever got it got the incriminating evidence.

Yuki watched it with a soft sigh.

Kisa snuck over to the group, plucked it out of both of their hands and ducked behind Yuki, peeking around him occasionally.

Hiro grinned triumphantly and backed away from Momiji.

The blonde haired one just looked pathetically in Kisa's direction.

Yuki laughed softly, and watched the other two boys.

"Yuki-kun… is something wrong with Momiji-kun?" she asked in a small voice as the whirring sound from the camera stopped.

Before he could answer, Shigure snatched her up and hugged her from behind, taking the camera quickly. Kisa grimaced slightly and released the camera as she pushed softly against Shigure's arms, still wincing.

Hiro stiffened up immediately, and stalked towards the owner of the house. "Shigure..." he growled from in his throat.

Momiji cheered, dancing around.

Yuki raised his eyebrows and looked at Shigure and Kisa. "Be careful, Shigure-san. She looks like-"

"Her ribs are bruised, Shigure, leave her alone..." Hiro finished, still growling angrily, his hands clenched into fists as he bared down on Shigure.

Shigure froze suddenly and released Kisa, whom fell to the ground almost instantly, her breaths uneven. "How was she bruised?" he asked. Hatori walked over to Kisa and knelt beside her, checking if she was all right.

Hiro also knelt beside Kisa with Yuki, both of them keeping enough distance from the doctor so he could do his work.

Hiro looked to the side, not willing to meet the other man's eyes. "I... I kinda kicked her..."

"You kicked her…. Why on earth would you do that?" Shigure asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kisa's breaths soon returned to normal as she nodded to Hatori, answering a few questions and then sitting there in silence, careful not to breathe more than she had to, and wincing every now and then.

Momiji answered instead of Hiro. "She likes it rough!"

Yuki stared in shocked silence at Momiji.

Hiro turned bright red and glared at the rabbit. "NO!"

Momiji snickered. "Oh, so you made her play rough... I get it Hiro. I'm surprised you had it in you..."

Hiro turned even darker red. "No, that either!"

Momiji just laughed. "Ja, I believe you..."

Hiro turned back to Shigure and quickly explained. "I was having a nightmare, and I thought she was part of it and attacking me and I was a sheep so I kicked out at her, and I hit her on the ribs and then I felt really bad about it, I didn't do it on purpose!" He was panting after his long, run-on sentence, and hoping that explained everything

"Ahhh….. I wished it were what Momiji thought. Young love…" he muttered. "Maybe I should write this in my new story…" he muttered as he stroked his chin and grinned.

Kisa sweat dropped at the though, while blushing deeply.

Hiro clenched his fist and growled, sweat dropping as well.

Yuki got up and smacked the author on the back of the head. "Down, boy."

Momiji laughed. "I really liked that one, too..."

Hiro shook his fist at Momiji, blushing deeply. Momiji stuck his tongue out.

Hiro glared once more before turning back to Kisa. "Are you feeling alright now?"

Kisa nodded, but still had her hand pressed lightly against her ribs. The bruise seemed to have grown to be more sensitive ever since Shigure nearly strangled her. But the pain could be seen in her eyes.

"Gomen Kisa-chan…" Shigure muttered as he bowed his head and sweat dropped.

"That's better," Yuki said softly, before turning to go into the kitchen.

Hiro sat down directly in front of Kisa, and looked at her, concern in his brown eyes. He wanted to hug her, but with the pervert with the camera, and her bruised ribs, he decided against it. "I didn't mean to do that..."

"Do I need to say it again Hiro-kun?" she asked as she smiled softly, trying not to laugh for it hurt her to do so.

Hiro shook his head slowly, still looking at her. "No, I've got the general idea. It wasn't my fault."

Momiji 'awwwwed' softly.

Hiro pointedly ignored the half-German, and instead kept his focus solely on Kisa.

Kisa smiled softly and chewed softly on the lollypop stick in her mouth, as if it was taking away the though of pain. With a small sigh, she looked over at Momiji, blushing slightly.

Hiro took his lollypop stick and threw it at the rabbit, which sidestepped the thing easily, still giving them the watery-wide-eyed look.

Hiro did entirely not believe a moment of it, and he moved closer to Kisa. He could almost feel what he dubbed the Pervert Waves traveling through the room.

Kisa gripped the hem of Hiro's shirt again and looked up at him cutely, tilting her head slightly to the side and yawning.

He wanted to hug her, but he couldn't... he wanted to hug her...

Ah hell, he decided, and moved so he could grab her in a very loose, very soft hug, his arms wrapping about her shoulders to avoid her ribs.

Kisa blushed slightly as she was pulled into the embrace, and there was a bright flash of light as Shigure took a picture with his new film. "Score!" he yelped as he smiled and grinned at the couple.

For once, Hiro only gave Shigure a look of annoyance, and didn't release Kisa.

Momiji looked sad. "How come you won't let me off that easily."

Hiro smirked at Momiji. "Because you're not the owner of the house. And because you're not much older than me."

Shigure 'hmphed'. "Since when am I old?" he grumbled, making Kisa laugh and wince.

Hiro looked back at Shigure. "Since you're not a teenager anymore." He looked back down to Kisa, and sighed softly. "Please don't hurt yourself more."

"So I can't laugh?" she asked in a small voice as she looked up at him and smiled.

Shigure crossed his arms. "Then I shall give the camera to Momiji…." He grumbled, disliking the comment of him being old.

Hiro shook his head at Kisa. "I would say no... but it's nice to hear you laugh. Just try not to hurt yourself." He looked back up at Shigure, and shook his head. "Fine, old man, do what you want."

Shigure grumbled again and gave the camera to Momiji with a grin on his face. Kisa looked at Shigure in astonishment and sighed, knowing that now that if Momiji had the camera, he might as well just be Shigure.

Momiji grinned a huge thank-you at Shigure and took another picture of Kisa and Hiro together.

Hiro let Kisa go, and made for the door. "This is insanity... I need to get away from it..."

Yuki, standing in the kitchen and drinking fruit juice, silently agreed. He wanted to go out to his 'secret base', so he came back out into the main area to get Tohru.

Kyo was hiding up on top of the roof, listening to what was happening below. Rolling his eyes, he continued to lay there.

Tohru was next to Kisa, lifting up her shirt lightly to inspect the wounds. "Daijobu ka Kisa-chan?" she asked as Kisa nodded in an unsure way. As a prize, Tohru gave Kisa another lollypop and the two smiled.

Hiro turned around to ask Kisa if she wanted to join him, just as Tohru lifted up the shirt. Hiro turned red, and looked away walking quietly to the door.

Momiji quietly put the camera away. There would be time for that later.

Yuki walked up to Tohru, and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. "I was going to the secret base... did you want to tag along?"

Kisa looked silently up at Yuki and then back at Tohru. Tohru stood up and nodded, smiling. "Is it time for the harvesting?" she asked.

Kisa looked over at Hiro and stood up, walking after him in silence. "Hiro-kun? Daijobu ka?" she asked as she grabbed his hand lightly.

Yuki smiled softly. "Almost, there might be a few that matured early. That's what I want to go find out is if I can place a definite time..."

Hiro gritted his teeth, and tried to relax to Kisa's touch. It worked surprisingly well. "I'm fine... I just need to get away from these idiots so I can keep my sanity..."

"I don't want to be left alone with Momiji and Shigure-san either…" she muttered softly as she smiled and released his hand.

"I'm all for it!" Tohru replied as she smiled as always.

Yuki smiled, and motioned for the door. "Shall we then?"

Hiro, looked almost pathetic as he felt Kisa's hand leave his. "I was gonna head to the cliff. If you promise not to try and pelt me with mud, you can come too."

"I promise…" Kisa muttered as she smiled softly and grabbed Hiro's hand softly.

Tohru nodded and followed after Yuki.

Hiro nodded, and squeezed her hand lightly before heading off into the woods.

It was about the same time Tohru and Yuki left the house. "I wonder where they're going..." Yuki wondered out loud, watching the two youngest Sohmas disappear into the woods.

"I wonder what is happening with them lately… They seem, different…" Tohru muttered as she looked at Yuki, to see if he knew why.

Kisa smiled and looked down at Hiro's hand holding hers.

Yuki shook his head. "Something must have happened, but I have no idea what. It started just before Kisa got put in the cage." he began walking towards the 'secret base', which was in an entirely different direction than the cliff. Yuki looked at the ground thoughtfully. "Akito-san punished them once before... or rather, her once before. But no one knows why... maybe the two events are related?"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hiro walked as quickly as he dared to the cliff. It was there that he felt safe acting however he wanted to, because only he and Kisa would know what happened there. It was safe from the perverted idiots, at least.

Kisa followed along with a smile. But the quickened walking hurt her somewhat, but she didn't dare to say anything about it.

Tohru smiled again. "Do you think there might be something going on between them?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"Think?" Yuki asked, chuckling lightly, and looking back into the forest. "I know there must be something there. Hiro was never like this before. Even before the first incident with Akito and Kisa."

They finally made it to the cliff face, and Hiro sighed in relief. He walked up to the slope, and began climbing it very slowly, still holding Kisa's hand in case she slipped.

Tohru nodded and sighed, still walking along side of Yuki.

Kisa grimaced while Hiro wasn't looking and continued to the cliff, panting slightly. Once reaching the cliff, Kisa stood up as straight as possible and tried to control her breaths as she stood there.

Yuki reached the garden, and held his hands out, smiling softly. "There's more than I expected! This could be really useful." He motioned to the fact that nearly a third of the garden was ready for harvesting.

Hiro looked back at Kisa, his gaze soft, and he reached out lightly for her. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Y-Yes…" Kisa muttered as she clutched her side slightly and stood there quietly.

Tohru's jaw dropped at the sight of the garden. "Oh! Strawberries!" she muttered happily as she knelt beside a large patch of them.

Hiro still looked concerned, and he hesitantly reached a hand out to touch her side. He placed his fingers on the back of the hand clutching her ribs, and smiled at her softly. "Get better soon..." he whispered quietly. He almost wanted to ask her to see what damage had been done, but that would require her moving her shirt and... he wasn't sure if he was ready for that one. So instead, he quietly smiled at her.

Yuki smiled at Tohru as he went to begin inspecting the carrots.

Kisa looked down at his hand in silence and picked it up, holding it to her face lightly and smiling, closing her eyes. "Would you like to see? It's not that bad…"

Hiro turned quite pink at the thought of that, but... she wouldn't be showing anything incriminating... he took a deep breath, and nodded, before remembering she had her eyes close. "You'd let me see it? I guess..."

Kisa opened her eyes and smiled softly as she released his hand and slowly pulled up her shirt, but only just past the bruises on her ribcage. The bruises were nice mixtures of green, purple, blue, yellow, and red, which seemed odd. They made U shapes around where Hiro's hoofs had impacted.

Hiro winced, and drew a hissing breath between his teeth. He reached out to touch one of the bruises, but dropped his hand, not knowing if she'd want him to, and instead just stared. His eyes began to water. "Not bad? Kisa... this is horrible... I didn't know I could... I didn't know I..."

Kisa pulled him into a soft hug, her shirt still lifted as she pressed against him, wincing slightly as tears watered in her own eyes. "It's okay Hiro-kun… You didn't know…" she muttered as she closed her eyes, tears streaming from them.

Hiro hugged her as tightly against him as he could without fearing her would hurt her more. "I know I didn't know but... damn... I did some damage. You should've told me that sooner..."

Kisa shook her head slightly and closed her eyes again. Tightening the hug, she winced slightly and trembled through the hug. Wincing again, she didn't even care. "I'm sorry…" she muttered again.

Hiro sighed and brought his hand up to thump her on the head. "Hey, if I can't apologize, then you sure can't either." he had to resist the urge to squeeze her and pick her up.

Momiji walked through the park, looking slightly confused. "I thought for sure they'd be here..." He nearly dropped the camera, but recovered and headed back for Shigure's house.

Kisa tilted her head to the side slightly when he thumped her on top of her head. Looking up at him with those same innocent eyes, she continued to hug him, ignoring her pulsating bruise.

Hiro adjusted his position so he could look down at her, and smiled. "It's not your fault, either." He leaned down slightly, as if to kiss her again, his cheeks flushed. But he faltered after only about an inch of movement, his courage draining quickly.

Kisa lifted her head to where their lips connected, and she blushed deeply.

Hiro stiffened suddenly, not thinking she would do that, but after a few seconds he relaxed into it. He was suddenly quite glad that Momiji and Shigure were not there.

Kisa pulled away from the kiss and continued to hug him, grimacing as she finally noticed the pain.

Hiro looked at her sympathetically, if a little dazed, before pulling back a little. "If it hurts you then... you shouldn't keep doing it..."

"But…." She muttered as she remembered his words from before, telling her not to hurt herself. Releasing her hold on him, she pulled down her shirt gently, as if the very touch of the shirt would hurt her.

Hiro turned back to the edge of the cliff before plopping down. He sat with his legs slightly splayed and the soles of his boots hanging off the edge of the cliff. He leaned back and propped himself up with his hands while he looked out at the sky, a smile just barely pulling up the corners of his lips.

Kisa watched him in silence and mimicked his actions, lying lightly on her back though, the pain still lingering there in her ribcage. Looking towards him, she smiled softly and then turned her gaze to the sky. Once again she tried to make shapes and figures out of the clouds. Somehow, she managed to see a camera looking cloud and began laughing and clutching her ribcage lightly.

"What's so funny?" Hiro asked, breaking from his thoughts and looking at Kisa.

"I see a camera…" she muttered as she pointed to the cloud she had spotted before.

Hiro tilted his head to the side, then to the other. He squinted at the cloud before smiling. "Ah... I see it now..." He pointed to one not too far from the camera. "And that one looks like a rabbit. What irony..."

Kisa smiled and closed her eyes, letting the wind ruffle her hair.

Hiro looked over to her, his jaw trying to drop, and he looked away before it could happen, instead focusing back on the sky. He moved his hands out from behind his back, and instead put them behind his head as he lay completely on his back and watched more clouds overhead. "I'm kinda glad I found this place..."

"Why is that Hiro-kun?" she asked as she remained with her eyes closed. Part of her wanted to yawn, and part of her wanted to stay awake.

Hiro smiled. "It gets me away from all the idiots that annoy me, and finally lets me not be so..." Vindictive? Irritating? "Ah, sarcastic..." _And it lets me be alone with you_, he added silently in his mind.

Kisa smiled softly and fell into a light sleep, the gentle breeze blowing her hair and ruffling her clothes slightly.

Hiro frowned slightly at the unresponsiveness of Kisa, and looked at her. The frown quickly dissolved into a light chuckle as he figured out she was asleep. He yawned, figuring she had a good idea, and continued to watch the clouds.

As the breeze began to get colder, Kisa curled up, shivering slightly. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked around, feeling the breeze get colder by the second. Looking up into the sky, she saw a white flake falling from it, and landing on top of her nose. "Eh?"

Hiro continued to sleep, dreaming lightly of things even he didn't understand, but they weren't like the things in his last dream.

Yuki looked up into the sky in a bit of a panic. "Oh no... I didn't think it was going to snow... we need to get blankets to cover the vegetables..." he explained to Tohru softly.

Tohru began to panic and run around. "The secret base can't be destroyed!" she yelped as she continued to pace back and forth.

Kisa looked over at Hiro, snow falling lightly on top of him. Reaching out, she shook him lightly and shivered, her hands were cold as well.

Hiro opened his eyes slowly, and shook his head as he realized it was cold and wet. "What the heck...?" He looked around and realized it was snowing. "Well, I guess it's time to head back..."

Yuki sweat dropped, and smiled at Tohru. "Now relax, I have some blankets in a closet at Shigure-san's house, we can use those to cover up the vegetables, but we have to move quickly before the snow accumulates."

"Right…" Tohru squeaked as she walked towards the house.

Kisa looked at the already three inches of snow and grinned. Scooping the coldness into her hands, she chucked the ball at the back of Hiro's head and laughed softly.

Hiro rubbed the back of his head and shivered. "Hey, I'm still recovering from that flu you gave me," He said looking over his shoulder. He stood up and made for the slope. Oh, this would be fun indeed to go down.

Kisa walked after him slowly. Looking down the hill, she gulped and descended it. A rock under her foot shifted and she slipped, sliding down the hill.

Hiro went down the hill after her, but upright on his feet, and sliding on purpose. He stopped next to her, and smiled. "Watch out, the road may be slippery when there's snow."

"You should have told me that before…" she mumbled as she shivered, holding her side.

"Now..." He held out his hand. "Need help up? Or are you going to do something weird again?"

Kisa shook her head and took Hiro's hand quickly, trembling and shivering. "C-Cold…"

Hiro shook his head, but couldn't stop it as he sneezed into the crook of his arm. "Yeah, just a little cold, we should probably hurry back..." he kept his hand around hers, and pulled lightly until they were walking at a pretty brisk pace. "This is what we get for wearing summer clothes in the fall..."

Yuki spread out another blanket to gently cover the vegetables. "There, it's done..." he held up a hand for Tohru in a sort of High-five motion. "Now let's get back and drink some nice hot tea."

Kisa laughed softly, being able to see her breath in the cold. She stuck as close as she could to him and shivered again.

Tohru gave him a High-five in a confused manner and nodded. She stood there, shivering slightly and then walked back towards the house. I hope Hiro and Kisa-chan are all right…"

Yuki walked alongside Tohru, smiling in his mysterious way. "Oh, they'll be fine. If need be, she can make a sweater out of him." Yuki laughed softly at that, but was soon pelted in the back of the head by a snowball.

"I heard that!" Hiro growled at Yuki, his arm still in a follow-through of the throw. He kept walking past Yuki, taking Kisa with him towards Shigure's house, which was now just a few dozen yards away.

Kisa continued to shiver and looked over at Tohru, tilting her head to the side slightly.

Tohru smiled and sweat dropped.

Hiro walked into the house, looking over his shoulder. "No one is making a sweater out of me..." He turned back to find Momiji with a camera at the ready. But even before Momiji could push the button, he was hit in the face with another snowball. "Don't even think about it, rabbit."

Momiji's eyes water pitifully, and he turned around. "Waaah!!! Hiro's picking on me!"

Hiro glared at Momiji before dusting the snow off himself and heading to where he knew a dry change of clothes was.

Kisa wandered to her duffle bag, picking out a new set of winter clothes.

Kyo was back inside, due to the snow.

Tohru finally made it back to the house and sighed, her breath coming out as a white fog.

Yuki closed the door behind Tohru, and smiled as he walked in, looking around. Momiji was still wiping the snow off his face, and looking pathetic.

Hiro was just about to get changed when... "Ah... ah... ahCHOO!" and poof! He was a sheep again.

A loud "Damn it!" echoed throughout the house, and a small sheep walked out of the room Hiro went in.

Oh well... at least the wool is warm... He thought walking up to the table and laying down. "Damn cold hasn't gone away yet..."

Kisa looked over at Hiro and smiled, scooping him up into her arms. "It takes time Hiro-kun…" she reminded him, for she still hadn't gotten over her cold either.

Tohru smiled and scurried to the Kitchen after taking her shoes off. "Who wants cocoa and who wants tea?" she called as she peeked her head out of the doorway.

"Cocoa please!" called Kisa.

Kyo yawned softly. "I don't care…"

Shigure raised his hand. "Hari and I want tea!" he answered for Hari, who only sweat dropped.

Momiji jumped up and down. "Oo! Cocoa!"

Yuki smiled. "I'll have tea..."

Hiro just nestled himself into Kisa's arms and yawned softly. "Don't think I can drink much of anything..."

Kisa winced slightly and smiled. Tohru went away making the tea and cocoa and then bringing it out to the table. Kisa took her cocoa in one hand and blew on it first before sipping.

Shigure went ahead and sipped, burning his tongue. "Ai!" he yelped.

"I Should Have Told You It Was Hot!!!" Tohru yelped as she sweat dropped.

Yuki sweat dropped. "Baka..." He quietly blew on the tea before taking a small sip of it.

Momiji almost did the same thing as Shigure, but remembered at the last moment to let it sit for a moment and cool a little.

Hiro just quietly closed his eyes; content to falling asleep right where he was in Kisa's grasp.

Kisa yawned softly as she finished her cocoa and closed her eyes. Feeling an itch in her nose, she turned her head and sneezed into her elbow, coughing as well.

Tohru looked over at Kisa. "Daijobu ka?" she asked.

"Hai…" Kisa replied as she yawned softly.

Momiji finished his cocoa and seemed more rambunctious than before. Yuki sweat dropped at the rabbit, then looked at Tohru.

"Maybe... cocoa wasn't such a good idea..." Yuki stated softly, watching Momiji giggle.

"Gure-saan... are you ever going to replace the television?" Momiji asked, in a whiny tone of voice.

Hiro tried to cover his ears from the noise. "Baka usagi..."

"Eventually…" Shigure replied.

Kisa yawned softly again and opened her eyes sleepily.

"Looks like you need some sleep." Hatori uttered as he watched her.

Momiji sighed softly. "Of course... Well, I'm bored..." he looked pointedly at Hiro. "Maybe if Hii-kun..."

"If you try and shave me and make a wool sweater, I'll make an angora one out of you," Hiro mumbled, sounding cranky.

Yuki chuckled and sweat dropped.

Kisa yawned yet again and patted Hiro lightly on his head. "Hiro-kun... be nice…"

Hiro cuddled up closer to her. "But he's tried it before..."

Kisa smiled softly and closed her eyes again, sitting there, only half awake.

Hiro yawned again, and closed his eyes, trying to sleep once more. "You should go to bed, Kisa..."

Momiji smiled and Hiro, and shook his head. "That was a joke..." he muttered softly.

Kisa nodded. "Excuse us…" she muttered as she yawned softly and stood, wandering over to her room.

"I wonder what Hiro meant about Bed…" Shigure pondered aloud.

Yuki, walking into the kitchen to put his cup in the sink, smacked Shigure on the back of the head. "Don't be vulgar."

Momiji snickered behind his hand. "But he's a sheep right now... they can't very well do anything..."

"And no sheep sex jokes!" Yuki yelled from in the kitchen. Momiji's mouth snapped shut.

Hiro, who had heard the conversation, had a giant throbbing vein on the back of his head. "Baka usagi..."

Kisa placed Hiro on the bed and then slipped under the covers.

Momiji went to grab his camera, but was stopped by Yuki, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Don't... leave them alone for now," Yuki said softly, but it was in a tone that instantly made the request an order.

Hiro curled up slightly on the bed, taking a deep breath before sighing and letting himself drift off.

Kisa fell into a light sleep, her side pulsating angrily in pain, which made her sleep lightly. Every now and then she would grimace and pulled her knees towards her chest with her hand on one side.

Hiro awoke sleepily once, feeling the bed move. He opened his eyes, and his head throbbed once, but he ignored it, watching her curl up the way she did in pain. It made his eyes water just watching it.

Kisa grimaced again and her breaths became uneven. Wincing still, she closed her eyes and desperately hoped the pain would just vanish.

Hiro whimpered slightly, and leapt off the bed. He ran for the door, and lowered his head until he rammed it with a loud thunk.

Momiji, still confused, and one of the only ones still awake (Sugar), opened the door to the bedroom only to be nearly bowled over by a lamb one eighth his size.

Hiro turned around. "Where's Hatori? Kisa's... she's having a lot of trouble sleeping..."

Hatori was on his way out of the door when he heard his name. Walking towards the room, he stood there, beaming over Hiro. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Hiro took a deep breath and tried not to sound worried. "You have any pain medication on you? Kisa's ribs are... she's having a little trouble sleeping." Hey, what do you know, it worked.

Hatori searched through a bag and pulled out a small container of painkillers.

Hiro looked very pointedly at the doctor. "Are you trying to say I have to give them to her? Do I look like I have opposable thumbs? Honestly, now..."

Hatori looked at the sheep in silence and walked over to Kisa, trying to get her to take the medicine. But Kisa was stubborn. "I.. I'm fine…" she muttered softly as she fought back the tears.

"No, you're not fine, Kisa..." Hiro said softly, jumping up onto the bed clumsily. "I saw those bruises, and you can't sleep. Those are very obvious signs that you're not alright..." He rubbed the top of his head as best he could, it was still hurting from running into the door.

Momiji chuckled and walked back out.

Kisa submissively took the pill and looked away, cringing slightly at the pain.

"You should feel better within twenty minutes…" Hatori muttered.

Hiro looked at Hatori. "You think I could have one of those? My head is killing me..."

"That's why you don't run into doors," Momiji snickered from out in the main room. Hiro glared out the door, then looked back at Hatori.

Hatori nodded and gave one to him. "No overdosing…" he uttered as he stared at Kisa and lifted up her shirt, checking the bruises, which only seemed to have worsened.

Hiro blushed slightly, but couldn't bring himself to look away. Instead he felt his eyes water as he looked at the bruises. "I suppose... we really shouldn't have gone outside... maybe..." Hiro walked slowly up to her, still staring at the bruises. "We should just take it easy for a while. We're still sick... you're injured... and we've got Akito after you... probably after us..." He lightly placed his nose on one of the u-shaped bruises and closed his eyes. "Maybe it would be best if we just stayed inside..."

Kisa sighed, for she liked going outside.

"That would be reasonable logic." Hatori muttered as he nodded.

"At least until we're back to a hundred percent..." Hiro added, removing his nose from the bruise and nodding softly. "I'll bug Shigure into getting a new TV, so it won't be so boring..." Hiro added in a slightly malicious tone.

Kisa smiled softly and nodded, petting Hiro.

"So… Any other problems?" Hatori questioned.

"Nope... at least, I don't think so..." Hiro said, closing his eyes and leaning into her hand. "Get some sleep, doctor. You look like you need it."

Hatori nodded and walked out of the room in silence. He sad goodbye t those who were awake and left.

Kisa slowly nodded off.

Hiro curled up next to Kisa, his back to her bruised ribs, and fell asleep as well.

Momiji finally snuck back upstairs and went to bed as well.

Kisa winced slightly as he put his back against her ribs, but when the drug took affect, she fell asleep almost instantly.

And naturally, the last to fall asleep was the first to awaken as Momiji came sliding down the banister, and landed with a thump loud enough to awaken Hiro.

Hiro grumbled and curled up against himself tighter, wondering why he felt so cold. His wool should protect him from the cold like this, he thought, as he rubbed his arms with his hands. His brain didn't even begin to process what was wrong with that picture.

Yuki, also awoken by Momiji's rambunctious morning, slowly made his way down the stairs.

Kisa awoke, feeling something awkward against her. It was as if Hiro had gotten bigger. She still had one arm around him as well. Opening her eyes, she looked down at the human Hiro and her face flushed completely. Letting out a very loud scream, Kisa fell backwards off of her bed, grimacing and covering her eyes.

Momiji ran for the room, camera in hand as soon as he heard the scream. He opened the door to find Kisa on the ground, and a very human, very naked Hiro looking around confused. His eyes watered with joy as he snapped a picture of the scene. After which, he ran out of the room, cheering. "I got the money shot, Gure-san!"

Hiro looked out the door, his mind still in the process of gaining cognitive thought, wondering why Momiji would be so happy. He turned to find Kisa sitting on the ground, her faced buried in her hands, and every bit of skin exposed of her face was a bright red. "What in the world is going on?" Hiro asked sleepily as he moved so he could sit on his knees.

Wait a minute.

Oh god.

Hiro once again made a dive for behind the bed.

Kisa continued to have her eyes covered as she closed them tightly. Quickly, she turned her back to the bed, still covering her eyes. I did see something this time… she thought as she shook her head in her hands.

Hiro gasped for breath from his side of hiding behind the bed, as another flash filled the room. Momiji just couldn't resist this shot either, and he giggled as he made back for Shigure's study.

Hiro sighed softly, and looked at Kisa. "All right, now, don't move your hands, I'm going to get dressed now..." he tried to keep his voice as calm as he could.

Kisa nodded, but there was a very loud poofing noise as Kisa grimaced and she transformed into a tiger. Quickly, she scurried behind the drawers, just barely being able to fit and wincing as her side pressed against the wall.

Hiro took a deep breath, and walked quickly over to his bag, picking out some nice and thick winter clothes, before putting them on. "All right, Kisa... if you feel up to it, you can look again..." he said as he slipped on a pair of thick socks. His feet were really cold.

"I can't… move.." she muttered as she somewhat struggled to breathe.

Hiro looked over to where her voice came from, only to find a little orange tail sticking out from behind a dresser. He smiled gently, and walked over to it, before pulling it back enough to give her room. "Now why'd you have to run back here?""

"Because…" she muttered as she bowed her head, still blushing under her fur.

"Because what? Getting yourself stuck is no... reason to try and avoid looking at someone. You could've just closed your eyes," Hiro chided softly, reaching down to pick up the little tiger.

Kisa allowed herself to be picked up but tried to stay away from her bruises. "I'm sorry…" she muttered.

"Naw, it's alright," Hiro said softly, walking towards the door, and holding her as gently as he could. Suddenly, he stopped, and looked down at her. He sighed and blushed. "You saw something, didn't you?"

"I… I…" she muttered, stuttering. "Y-Yes…" she finished as she blushed deeply.

"Well then," Hiro said, his voice taking on an odd tone. "I'm sorry for having traumatized you with that."

"I-It's okay…" she muttered softly as she continued to blush.

Hiro opened the door, and nearly ran into Momiji, who was grinning like an idiot. "What do you want, Rabbit?"

Momiji's grin got wider, if that was possible, and he pulled out a camera.

Hiro's mind suddenly clicked. "You got a picture, didn't you?"

"W-What?" Kisa asked as she blushed even deeper and closed her eyes.

Momiji giggled. "You betcha I got a picture!" he raised the camera to take another one.

Hiro put his hand Over Kisa's eyes, and then gave Momiji a very pointedly malicious smile, just as the flash went off. The flash didn't even phase him, and Momiji lowered the camera to find Hiro still smiling at him.

The sheep walked past Momiji and out towards the table, removing his hand from Kisa's eyes.

Momiji stared at the camera, and then at Hiro. That smile had promised some pain...

Kisa's tail swished slightly as she looked up at Hiro. "Hiro-kun? What happened?" she asked in a small voice.

Hiro shrugged as much as he could without hurting her. "I just warned Momiji off, it's all right."

Momiji just kept staring at his cousin, as the sheep sat at the table, still cradling the wounded tiger in his arms.

Kisa yawned softly and buried her head against Hiro with her eyes closed.

"Now where's the dumb woman...?" Hiro wondered, looking around the house.

"She's not a dumb woman..." Yuki said softly, and Hiro jumped slightly at the voice.

"All right, so where is she?" Hiro demanded, his voice managing to stay quiet.

"I don't know, it looks like we're the only ones awake right now!" Momiji proclaimed happily.

Kisa yawned softly and looked over at Yuki, giving him a strange look at first and then yawning again, closing her eyes. "Onee-chan isn't stupid Hiro-kun…" she mumbled sleepily.

Hiro stiffened up, and leaned his head forward so his bangs shielded his eyes. "Alright... Kisa... Then... where's... T-T-Tohru?"

Momiji and Yuki looked at each other.

Tohru was walking down the stairs when she heard her name called. "Eh?" she asked as she looked over at Hiro, who was in his human form, and Kisa, who was in her tiger form.

Hiro turned around when he heard her descending the stairs. "There you are... when's breakfast? I'm starving!"

Yuki and Momiji both sighed and sweat dropped, for they thought things had changed. Apparently not.

Kisa looked sleepily up at Tohru. "Onee-chan…" she muttered, about to say something until Tohru tripped on the last stair, falling forward.

Hiro clamped a hand to his forehead. "Can I call her stupid now?"

Momiji and Yuki were already up and going over towards Tohru.

"No…" muttered Kisa as she sweat dropped.

Tohru was lying on the ground, face first into the floor.

Momiji was the first one over, trying to pull Tohru up, but was soon aided by Yuki.

"Tohru's a little clumsy in the morning, nicht?" Momiji asked, sweat dropping.

Hiro sighed. "Try a lot."

Tohru sweat dropped as well. "Gomen…" she muttered as she bowed her head. "I'll prepare breakfast!" she yelped as she rushed off to the kitchen.

"Hii-kun…. Be nice…" she mumbled as she nudged his arm slightly.

Hiro blushed lightly, and nodded, lightly stroking the fur on her back.

Kisa fell into a light sleep in his arms and Tohru brought out the food quickly.

"About time w- Tohru," Hiro growled, placing Kisa in his lap so he could eat more easily.

Momiji giggled, and dug into his food as well.

Yuki looked once at Hiro, and then began to eat.

Kisa curled up into a ball in Hiro's lap. Soon Kyo and Shigure, who both sat at the table and began to eat without saying anything, joined them.

Momiji finished eating first, and sat back with a grin. He turned to Shigure. "I got the money shot this morning, Gure-san!"

Hiro nearly choked on his food and blushed brightly.

"Ooo! That reminds me… we should get that film developed today… and make sure to make two copies!" he laughed.

Kisa awoke from Shigure's laughter and looked up quietly.

Hiro clenched his fist, and gritted his teeth. "I... am surrounded by idiots..."

Momiji nodded and wholeheartedly agreed with Shigure.

Yuki sweat dropped, and ignored them.

"Hiro-kun? What are Gure-san and Miji-kun doing?" she asked as she looked up at him.

The vein on the back of Hiro's head got larger as he thought about it. "They're going to go develop those pictures they've been taking..."

Kisa blushed as she thought about the pictures. "T-They aren't serious… right?" she asked as she looked up at him, still blushing.

Shigure laughed and grabbed the camera from Momiji. "Let's go now!"

Momiji laughed. "Ja!"

Hiro growled. "Yes, they're serious..."

Shigure and Momiji both left quickly and escaped to the nearest photo store.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Silence remained in the house, and it was a bit awkward. A few moments later, Momiji and Shigure came back with the film in hand and two copies. "OOOOOOOO… GUSHY!" Shigure muttered as he drooled at the pictures.

Hiro sweat dropped as a large crowd began to gather around Shigure so they could look at the pictures. Surprisingly enough, Yuki was one of them.

Hiro leaned forward and placed his head in one hand, as he lightly petted Kisa with the other. "Baka..."

Kisa repeatedly began to hit her head against Hiro's leg. Tohru wandered over and noticed a picture of Kisa. "Kisa's so adorable!" she yelped as she snatched the picture.

Hiro just continued to be embarrassed as the conversation began to get louder.

"Oh, that's a real attractive picture of you, Momiji," Yuki said with a laugh, pointing out the one taken while Momiji was looking very shocked.

A few more minutes of chatter passed, and then suddenly everyone went quiet.

"Hey, it's that picture I took this morning!" Momiji said, pointing out the one with Hiro looking less than intelligent, and sitting naked on the bed, while Kisa was cowering on the ground.

Yuki looked away after a moment of looking at it.

Hiro was stiff as a board, and his breathing came in uneven, angry growls. "Baka... usagi..."

Kisa blushed even deeper to where it was actually showing up through her fur.

Shigure had his own entire copy of the pictures and was scanning through them. "I should create a photo album and give it to their mothers…" he muttered as he smiled.

"Oh no you don't!" Hiro said, moving to get up. He picked Kisa up, and set her to the side as he went after the little group looking at the pictures.

"But Hii-kun..." Momiji said, holding out the picture from that morning. "Look! It's so cute!"

Hiro turned bright red. "It is NOT!"

Kisa watched silently and curled up into a ball under the table, as if she was expecting to be trampled.

"All right then..." Momiji said, slipping past Hiro. "Kisa-chan! Come here!"

Kisa crawled awkwardly over to Momiji, curiosity getting her attention.

Momiji looked sooo innocent at the moment, smiling the way he was, and Hiro was wondering what the rabbit was up to.

"But don't you think it's cute?" Momiji asked, moving his hand.

Hiro suddenly remembered what picture Momiji was holding, and went to warn Kisa before...

Momiji held it in front of her. "Kawaii, da ne?"

Hiro turned a shade of red that not many could believe a human's face could turn.

Kisa froze in fear and took off as fast as her little paws could carry her, running out of the back door and outside, her entire body looking red.

Hiro clenched his fist, multiple throbbing veins appearing on both his head and clenched hand. He stalked up behind Momiji, and hit the rabbit hard enough to knock him over. "She already had enough of that this morning!"

Momiji felt his eyes watering. Hiro had tried to hurt him, he could tell, as he gingerly picked his face off the ground, and rubbed his nose, his hand coming away with some red.

Hiro glared once more at everyone before turning and running out the door after Kisa. "Kisa! Wait up!"

Tohru rushed to Momiji's side, handing him a towel for his nose as she watched Hiro race after Kisa.

Shigure sat there in shock.

Kisa was already pretty distant and almost to the town before her paws gave way, sending her crashing to the ground in pain. "I didn't need to see that again…" she muttered as she buried her head in her chest.

Hiro hugged her to him tightly, sighing. "Once again... I've managed to scar you for life..."

Momiji sat there in shocked silence, his eyes still full of water. He gingerly placed the towel over his bleeding nose, and turned back to Shigure. His voice sounded very nasal as he spoke. "That might have been a little too far... is Hari-san still here?"

Shigure shook his head and sighed. "He left last night…" he mumbled.

"Miji-kun scarred me…" she mumbled as her tail poofed up slightly.

Hiro laughed. "True, but he wasn't there the first time..." he stopped, and looked down for a moment before standing up, and heading back towards the house.

The tears in Momiji's eyes spilled over. "Now I have to go back to the main house..."

"No you don't Momiji… Cry baby…" Kyo grumbled. "Just call Hatori." He added.

"B... but if Hari-san keeps coming back and forth between the main house and here, Akito... Akito might suspect something..." Momiji said, wanting to sniffle, but knowing it would hurt too much. "Besides... I'm supposed to be living in the main house... Akito must've noticed my absence by now..."

Hiro sighed as he carried Kisa back, still lightly stroking her fur. "Stupid rabbit..."

Kyo huffed slightly. "Stupid rabbit… Go back, and hope that Akito doesn't throw your ass in the cage." He grumbled, feeling grumpy as he left for the roof.

Kisa fell asleep in Hiro's arms again, but she continued to have very distinctive images of Hiro in her mind.

Momiji began crying harder. "I don't wanna be in the cage... I don't wanna go in there..." He tried to blow his nose into the towel, but it made it hurt more. Which made the crying worse.

Hiro could hear the crying and he was easily twenty feet from the house. "What in the world... is that Momiji?"

Shigure sighed again. "Hiro… you overreacted…" he grumbled slightly.

Kisa soon heard the wailings and lifted her head silently, looking towards the house.

Momiji shook his head very slowly. "He didn't overreact... I did..." he sobbed softly into the towel.

Yuki couldn't figure out who was at fault for this incident.

Hiro walked quietly into the house, looking around and blushing slightly as he felt everyone's eyes on him. "What?"

Kisa looked around and then stuffed her head in Hiro's elbow, as if more nude pictures were going to be shown to her.

Hiro braced himself for it as well... that was, until he saw the apologetic look on Momiji's tear-stained face. The rabbit kept the towel pressed to his face, knowing that underneath was a bloody mess.

Hiro's jaw dropped slightly, and he managed to snap his jaw shut before he frowned. "What is...?"

Momiji ran as fast he could out of the room, and up the stairs to the bedroom.

Kisa instinctively hopped out of Hiro's arms and began to struggle to scale the stairs. Finally she managed to get up the last step and paw over to Momiji's room. "Momiji-kun…" she muttered, pawing at the door.

Hiro began to step forward to help Kisa up the stairs, but he was stopped by a word from Yuki. "Hiro..."

Hiro glared over at Yuki.

Yuki sighed. "Hiro, come over here and sit down. You'll talk to Momiji when it's your turn..."

"My what?" Hiro demanded, suddenly sounding very angry. He moved like he was going to take off again, but was grabbed by Yuki and pushed down by the table.

Hiro looked surprised, but he sat there sullenly.

Momiji tried to stop crying but he couldn't. He didn't want to see Kisa but... he stood up and opened the door a little before going back and collapsing on the bed.

Kisa padded in and pawed at the edge of the bed. "Momiji-kun… I'm sorry… and Hiro's sorry…" she muttered as she looked upwards and pawed at the bed again, trying to get up.

"I should apologize..." Momiji said softly, lifting his head off the bed and watching the blood from his nose mix with his tears and fall on the towel. "Taking all those pictures... I never stopped to think about what you were feeling..."

"No… You just were around Gure-san too much…" she growled softly as she laughed, trying not to sound like the laughing hurt her.

"But I was the one who took it to an extreme..." Momiji said softly, still looking at the towel. It would be quite unusable after this. And he wanted to sneeze.

He looked back at Kisa. "Kisa-chan... you're still in pain, aren't you?"

Kisa did not answer this question as she sat there, still looking up at Momiji. Now that her ribs were visible, there were two large lumps where her ribs had broken.

"Hari-san lied... he said you were fine..." Momiji commented, looking at the angry swell of her ribs. "He said things were only bruised... We need to call his lazy butt back here and tell him to act like a real doctor for once!" Momiji grabbed the towel and stalked out of the room angrily. He looked back at Kisa as he was at the door. "Don't move..."

Kisa did as was told and sat there, staying still. Gulping slightly, she layed down on her back, as not to agitate her ribs more.

Momiji walked down the stairs enough so he could look right at Shigure. "Gure-san, call Hari-san. My nose is broken, I know it. And so are Kisa-chan's ribs..."

Hiro drew back as if something had struck him. "What... he said they were... I... I broke them... and I..." he put his head in his hands.

Shigure nodded and walked over to the phone, calling Hatori.

Tohru kneeled by Hiro. "It's okay Hiro-kun…" she muttered as she looked at him closely.

Within a half hour, Hatori was there, again.

"No... it's not alright... I always ending up hurting her... hurting them..." Hiro muttered softly, several tear droplets falling from his nose to the ground. "Maybe... I should just stay away from everyone... is this because I defied God? I..." he walked, or rather staggered towards the door, swinging it open harshly before slamming it shut behind him.

Momiji winced as he took the towel away from his face so Hatori could inspect his nose.

Hatori sighed and looked at Momiji's nose, noting that it was in fact broken.

Tohru walked out of the door behind Hiro and hugged him. "Kisa needs you Hiro-kun…" she muttered.

"But I hurt her... and I hurt Miji-kun..." He muttered, now a sheep in Tohru's arms. "I just... this must be my divine punishment... I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this up..." He continued to cry, almost harder this time.

Tohru continued to hold him to her chest, cradling him. "It's okay… Kisa has to go through this pain too. And if you leave her now, she will give up…" she muttered, speaking the truth.

Hatori wandered upstairs to find Kisa on her back still. Wandering over to her, he examined her more defined wounds carefully, noting that they were also in fact broken.

Momiji continued to hold the towel to his nose, and looked towards the door, where Yuki now stood watching Tohru and Hiro. Momiji wandered up to Yuki, and looked at the rat quizzically.

"He acts so mature... but he's... he's got such insecurities for a little kid," Yuki said, shaking his head.

"We all do, Yuki-kun... we all have more than we need to..." Momiji replied, continuing to watch.

"This... is what we get for going against the orders of God..." Hiro mumbled, still sobbing. "I should've never fallen in love..."

"Don't say that!" Tohru yelped as she could feel her throat becoming slightly swollen.

"Hiro-kun…" came a small voice as Kisa stood, still slightly wobbly at the door.

Hiro stiffened suddenly, before struggling against Tohru. "NO! I won't... I can't take this any more!! It hurts too much!!" He finally broke free and ran blindly into the woods. "I can't... I can't fight the pain anymore... I'm breaking... Akito-sama..." He collapsed, tired and exhausted after a long, hard run. "You win Akito-sama... I can't... I can't escape the pain... but I can't stop loving her..."

"Hiro-kun!" Kisa yelled after him as he disappeared. "H-Hiro-kun…" she whimpered softly as she padded forward and sat down on her haunches, tears filling the corners of her eyes.

Tohru stood there in shock and looked down at Kisa with sympathy. Shigure and Hatori did the same as they watched Kisa sit there. After the others went in, Kisa continued to sit there and wait…. And wait… and wait…..

Hiro finally managed to regain his breath, and he stood up shakily, tears still flowing down his face. He sat there looking miserable, until the bushes began to rustle around him. He didn't think anything of it, until they did it again, and a smell wafted to his nostrils.

Fox. And it was hungry.

He stood up quickly, and looked around, his hooves frozen in place. There was an eerie silence, and Hiro knew it was the fox getting ready to pounce. _Heh, what a fitting end to a miserable life. I'm going to die like the scared little lamb I am... _Hiro thought bitterly.

Kisa came charging at the fox with a loud growl and sank her fangs into the fox's hindquarters protectively.

"Kisa! Kisa, what are you doing?! You're injured!" Hiro yelled as he watched the fox yelp and run back for the bushes. "Kisa... don't do that... you're going to hurt yourself more..."

Kisa was dragged into the bushes with the fox and there were loud growls and hisses that continued for a small amount of time. Wobbling out of the bushes, Kisa collapsed next to Hiro, blood seeping from bite wounds and her muzzle.

Hiro immediately went over to her side, hurting more now on the inside than he had been before. "Kisa... no baka... you didn't have to do that..." he whispered softly, nuzzlng the side of her face.

Kisa smiled softly, tail swaying behind her. "It's all right… I felt that you were in trouble… And I guess I was right." She muttered with a smile. Slowly, she clambered to her paws. The blood on her muzzle wasn't hers, it was the fox's.

"What... did you do to that fox...?" Hiro said, looking towards the bushes.

"I scared it…" she mumbled as she smiled again. Her courage finally showed itself.

"Well... yeah you scared it, you scared me, too... anyone would be afraid of an angry tigress but... you didn't kill it?" Hiro asked quietly.

Kisa had a guilty look on her face, but she shook her head. "I wouldn't kill something…" she mumbled as she sighed, trying o wipe the blood off of her muzzle and onto the ground.

And suddenly Hiro felt it, from far away, the familiar rush of adrenaline. "Kisa... look awa-"

Poof!

And Hiro curled up into a little ball. "It's really cold out here..." he tried to cover himself, but his hands stayed on his chest. Instead he crossed his legs, and blushed, looking at the ground.

Kisa blushed deeply and closed her eyes tightly. She soon felt that writhing adrenaline swimming through her veins. "Don't look Hiro-kun…" she muttered as there was a popping noise and she covered herself the best that she could. So there they were… both naked.

"Oh great..." Hiro growled, his eyes squeezed shut to protect him from the image that was already swirling around in his mind. "How are we supposed to find our way back now? We're in a forest in the middle of nowhere, and we're naked."

"A-And what would Gure and Miji-kun think?" she asked as she sat with her back to him, not even daring herself to look back at him.

"I know exactly what they'd think," Hiro said bitterly, and made a very good impression of a camera clicking.

Kisa sneezed softly and shivered. "S-So… cold…" she muttered as she continued to shiver. "T-Too bad there aren't any t-tigers or s-sheep out here…" she muttered, teeth chattering slightly.

"Neither of which are in any way native to this area..." Hiro mumbled softly, shivering himself. He risked a peek and found her with her back to him. From the way she was shaking, he could tell she was as cold as him. "Oh what I wouldn't give for a farm right now..." Hiro said quietly.

Kisa continued to tremble as she sat there. "M-Maybe…. O-Onee-chan w-will l-look f-for us…" she muttered, now having a pretty bad stutter. Releasing quite a few sneezes, she closed her eyes, still trembling.

Hiro chattered his teeth now, as well, the cold starting to set in. "Yeah... she'll come for us... soon..." He took a deep breath before moving so he could kneel behind her. He squeezed his eyes shut as he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her up against him.

Yuki went to check on Kisa, and bring her in since it was almost obvious that Hiro hadn't returned yet. When he noticed nothing there, he looked back into the house. "Hey, has Kisa come back in already?" he called.

Kisa's eyes widened at the sudden movement, and she blushed deeply, but his warmth was comforting.

All of the Sohma's answered with a "No…"

Tohru looked out from the kitchen. "Kisa-chan is gone?" she asked.

Yuki nodded solemnly. "Yeah... and I now don't know where she went... and Hiro's not back either?"

Momiji looked afraid. "Should we look for them?"

"They're both in... animal form... so they're small and defenseless... I'd say so," Yuki said softly.

Hiro gripped Kisa just a little bit tighter, and rested his face on her shoulder so he wouldn't be tempted to look.

Kisa continued to blush and closed her eyes once again, curling slightly against him for more warmth.

Shigure soon gained ideas. "Or they could be transformed back into their human forms with no clothes… I should get the camera…" he mumbled.

Hiro sighed softly, and muttered, "What the hell is taking them so damn long..."

Yuki looked back at Shigure. "That's actually a possibility. We should bring some clothes with us in case that's the scenario..."

Momiji jumped up. "Ja!" he ran back to get the clothes, but was stopped by Yuki. "You wait here, Momiji, your nose is broken and heaven knows they might come back while we're gone."

Momiji sighed, but handed the clothes over to Yuki.

Yuki looked around. "So, who's coming?"

Tohru raised her hand. "It's pretty cold out there… I do hope Kisa is warm enough…" she muttered.

Kisa nodded and continued to tremble and soon began to cough lightly.

"You're gonna get sick again... hell, I'm gonna get sick again," Hiro whispered softly, moving so he sat with his legs on either side of her. "Damn it... it's really cold out here..."

Momiji waved at Yuki as the rat headed for the door. "So, everyone else is coming, right?"

Kyo stood there in silence. "I think it would be better if Shigure stayed behind. And I'll make sure these two perverts don't go out on their own hunt…" he grumbled.

Kisa turned her head and rested it against his chest, not even daring to look down.

Yuki looked around. "That only leaves two of us to go look..."

"I guess…" Tohru muttered as she looked outwards. "We need to go now…" she muttered in a worried tone as she hurried out of the door.

Yuki followed her out, and then remembered something. "They might be hibernating but..." he called for as many rats as he could, which happily enough, there were quite a few of them.

Kisa shivered again helplessly as she laid against Hiro,

"That will help!" Tohru stated as she smiled.

Yuki smiled back, and then leaned down to instruct the rats as to what was going on. "Momiji might have been kinda helpful, here, though. I know there's a lot of rabbits in this forest..." he paused, and looked around. "There's also a lot of foxes, let's hurry up..." he walked swiftly into the forest, the rats spreading out and going every direction but back towards the house, and the same direction that Yuki and Tohru were headed.

Hiro's teeth chattered, and he rubbed Kisa's arm quickly, trying to give warmth through the friction. "Any moment, that obnoxious rabbit or Yuki-kun or someone will come bursting through that bush, I know it..." he whispered into her ear, not trusting himself to speak out loud for fear of the doubt that might appear in his voice.

"H-Hiro-kun…. I-It's s-so cold…" she muttered softly as she trembled and began coughing again.

Tohru followed Yuki quickly, glancing around at every bush, noting a few holes that foxes could live in. A thought came quickly to her mind and she grimaced, thinking about it. What if Hiro and Kisa were eaten?

Hiro growled through his chattering teeth. "I know... I'm as naked as you are..." the thought made him blush deeply, but he had to continue. "This is the best I could think of for keeping warm, else we might have both caught pneumonia by now."

Yuki kept walking through the cold forest, looking around for a sheep and a tiger, but also for two humans, though it would be easier to spot humans than a sheep and a tiger.

Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him, forgetting about her bare chest. Hugging him tightly, she didn't even care for her broken ribs.

Hiro tried not to huge her back too tightly, fearing for her injuries, but he did allow his hands to rub her back, trying to get some more warmth through there. "W-w-would they hu... hurry up?" he chattered, shivering violently.

Kisa continued to tremble as she coughed lightly. Looking up into the sky, she noticed white flakes beginning to fall again.

Hiro looked up with her and swore softly. "It's snowing again... freakin' awesome..."

Suddenly, Kisa fell slightly limp in his arms, for she had fell into unconsciousness. It was because of her open bite wounds.

"K... Kisa?" Hiro asked, breaking his silent mantra and looking down at her. He could see everything, but he didn't care at the moment a he lightly shook her. "Kisa... wake up... Kisa..." He began to panic, and looked out into the forest. "Hey!! If there's someone looking for us, we're over here, dammit!!! We're here..." he looked at Kisa, and not for the first time that day, tears sprang up in his eyes. "Kisa... they're coming, hold on..."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Tohru heard distant yells and hurried forward.

Kisa remained unconscious in Hiro's arms, losing some heat.

Hiro suddenly felt something warm press up against the outside of his leg, and he looked down, right into the eyes of a large brown rat. "A rat?" he gasped. "Yuki! Hey!!! Get your lazy asses moving and get over here!"

Yuki began running towards where the voice came from, and in the process almost stepped on a rat. He looked down at it, and it told him it had found two humans. "Tohru! This way!" Yuki said, picking up the rat for directions so they could go faster.

Kisa was still alive, breathing and such, but she was not conscious.

Tohru ran after Yuki with difficulty.

Hiro stiffened up hearing heavy footsteps through the forest behind him. It was too big to be any wild animal that would live in this forest... that could only mean it was someone looking for them.

And it was Yuki who burst through the underbrush. Seeing the predicament, however, he averted his eyes. "I'm suddenly really glad we didn't bring Momiji or Shigure..."

Hiro sighed when he saw it was Yuki. "YOU'RE glad you didn't bring them? I'm the one who's naked!"

Tohru came rampaging behind Yuki and quickly spun on her head, looking away with blush streaks across her face.

Tohru quickly held the clothes behind her, giving them to Hiro.

Hiro looked pointedly at Yuki. "Well, are you going to hold her while I get dressed, or am I going to have to figure out a way to do this on my own?"

Yuki sighed, and kneeled down, hugging Kisa lightly. "What...?"

Hiro pulled his shirt over his head, reveling in the warmth of the wool before looking back at Yuki. "She passed out a few minutes ago... she's injured..."

"How?" Yuki inquired, looking up to Hiro who was currently in the process of zipping his pants.

"A fox attacked me while we were still small and furry," Hiro said, plopping down to put on his shoes and socks.

Yuki looked back at Kisa and sighed sympathetically. "So the tigress had to fight it off...?"

"Yeah," Hiro said, returning to Kisa's side, and grabbing her gently. "But she couldn't scare off the cold, and we both transformed back, and well... this is the result. Yuki? Thanks for NOT having Shigure or Momiji around..."

Yuki smiled back before Hiro looked back at Tohru. "You can turn around now. In fact I wish you would, we should probably get her dressed..."

Tohru turned around slowly, and seeing that is was clear, she hurried over to Kisa, holding her in her arms. "Kisa-chan…" she muttered with a sad look. Quickly, she pulled on Kisa's underwear and bra and then her shirt and pants. Kisa's cheeks were bright pink.

Yuki bent down to look at Kisa. "Here... as long as she's in human form... I'll carry her..." He turned around, still kneeling.

Hiro stiffened a little, but knew he was in no condition to carry her all the way back to the house in human form. "All right..." He moved to pick Kisa up so he could put her on Yuki's back. "One of the few times I'd give something to have Haru around..." He muttered softly.

Momiji, in the house, was pacing nervously back and forth, a really quite dumb looking bandage adorning his nose, which was swollen and purple and angry looking. "Now what's taking them so long...?"

Kisa rested limply on Yuki's back, eyes closed. Tohru looked at Kisa with a very worried expression and then looked back at Hiro. "Daijobu ka?"

"I'm still freezing my... everything off, but I'm warming up," Hiro answered calmly, a lot unlike how he usually would answer Tohru. He looked back at Kisa as they began walking back towards the house. "I'm more worried about her..."

Tohru watched Kisa again and closed her eyes. "Poor Kisa…. And you as well. You two have gone through so much in such little time…" she muttered.

Hiro sighed. "Yeah well... I wish we could catch a break every once in a while. This is overkill... I'm tired... I'm close to the breaking point... if this keeps going on for much longer... I don't know... I wish it would stop for long enough so I could catch my breath, and her too..." Hiro sighed, and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He watched the ground as he walked, thinking of all the things that had been happening lately...

Tohru sighed and looked up at the house came into view. Kisa stirred slightly on Yuki's back. Slowly, she managed to open her eyes. "Y-Yuki?" she asked in a weak and groggy voice.

Yuki smiled, and looked back for a moment. "Yes?"

Hiro smiled softly, letting out a sigh he hadn't known he was saving. "Kisa..."

"Hi…" she muttered weakly as she managed to smile. But still feeling weak, she closed her eyes again, not entirely asleep.

They approached the house, only to have Momiji burst through the door and come running for them. Hiro stepped out in front, and lowered himself, bracing for impact. One never came as Momiji slid to a halt in front of the entourage.

"Hii-kun!" He looked to the flash of orange on Yuki's back. "And Kisa-chan!"

Hiro rolled his eyes at Momiji, and then suddenly felt himself being pushed in the house. "Alright, in you go..." Momiji said, sounding concerned. Hiro tried to fight back against the hands, but he knew the inside of the house would be warm, and he wasn't about to resist going in for too long.

Tohru smiled and held the door open for Yuki as she continued to smile.

Kisa slowly opened her eyes, her head throbbing and so was her side. But she didn't feel much pain for she was too cold.

Momiji bumped past Hiro, and ran in the house. "They're home!!!"

Hiro rolled his eyes, taking off his shoes, before stepping inside.

Kyo rolled his eyes and watched Yuki as he brought Kisa in. "Well… They're alive…" he muttered as he went upstairs to his room.

"So..." Momiji said, his now nasal voice taking on a sly tone. "How was it sitting naked in the cold?"

Hiro stretched and yawned, now that he was warming up, he was feeling tired. "It was pretty damn cold..."

"How long did you have to sit there?" Momiji asked innocently.

"About half the time I was out there," Hiro said looking Momiji over.

"And she was... in her birthday suit along with you?" Momiji asked, now sounding very sly. Hiro knew what was coming next.

"No, she magically transformed back to her human form with clothes on. And before you ask, because I know you will... No. We're too young to even think about that," Hiro answered, sounding annoyed. Momiji's jaw snapped shut. _Ok... so maybe we're not to young to think about it... but we're definitely too young to do that..._ Hiro added in his mind.

He looked back over at his blonde cousin and smirked. "You look disappointed, Momiji..."

Kisa yawned softly and was set down next to Hiro. Falling over, she fell against his side with her eyes closed lightly.

Hiro moved so he could hold her against his chest. "In fact Momiji, if you want to know... we sat there like this for almost the entire time.."

Momiji looked more disappointed than before. "Ach... verdammt..."

Hiro smirked at Momiji, "And you without your precious camera."

Kisa looked up at Momiji and yawned cutely. Closing her eyes again, she rested her head against Hiro's chest and began to fall asleep.

Hiro smiled back down at her, before looking back up at Tohru and Yuki. "Erm... Uh, thanks..."

Yuki smiled at Hiro, then sat down at his usual place at the table.

Hiro then looked back at Tohru. "Could ya get some tea or other warm beverage over here? I'm still freezing."

Tohru smiled and rushed off to get the beverages ready. Bringing them out quickly, she placed several cups on the table. Kisa slowly opened her eyes again and leaned forward, pouring herself a small cup of cocoa and crawling out of Hiro's lap, sipping it slowly after waiting for it to cool. Yawning softly, she continued to drink. Tohru on the other hand waited for the others to get their tea or cocoa before getting hers.

Hiro muttered a quick "thanks..." before blowing on his tea and sipping it quietly.

This time, Momiji was drinking tea so he wouldn't stay up so late that night.

Yuki nodded and also thanked Tohru before drinking his tea.

Tohru sipped her cocoa and yawned softly, looking over at Kisa, and then remembering what Yuki and herself came upon. Sighing, she smiled.

Finishing his tea, Hiro leaned back on his hands, and sighed, closing his eyes.

Momiji jumped up, and grabbed Tohru with a loud "thanks that was just what I needed!" before Poof!ing into a rabbit.

A rabbit with a bandage on its nose, that made both Yuki and Hiro laugh.

Tohru sat there in shock as she looked down at Momiji, laughing nervously.

Kisa closed her eyes and hunched her back slightly as she fell asleep sitting up.

Hiro peeked out of the corner of his eye, and noticed Kisa sleeping there. He lightly rubbed her back. "Kisa... you should probably go to bed..."

Momiji laughed, as he began climbing up Tohru, trying to lay himself on her head like he'd done so many times before.

Yuki very made a point of not watching. He might become a little jealous of the rabbit. The thought made him sigh. _I'm turning into Hiro..._

Kisa stirred slightly and nodded at Hiro, quietly excusing herself and escaping to her room. Once upon entering, she fell into the sheets and breathed in the fresh scent of the pillows before curling up, still in her day clothes.

Hiro smiled, watching her leave, and that same smile stayed on his face, as he turned back around to face the table, and sighed, closing his eyes.

Momiji, finally reaching his goal, and plopping back down on Tohru's head, laughed. "Hii-kun Hii-kun, Hii-kun... and to think I thought you had given up..."

"No..." Hiro said softly. "No... I haven't given up... and if you transform back while you're still on top of her head, Momiji, I'm going to take a picture. And then I'm going to laugh for a very long time."

Yuki sweat dropped slightly at Hiro's comment.

"Aww... aren't you going to join her in bed?" Momiji asked slyly.

Hiro shook his head. "Maybe in a little bit... I'm not quite tired enough yet..."

Shigure snapped, spraying tea everywhere, and even through his nose. Coughing harshly, he calmed himself and sat there with his same Shigure smile.

Hiro caught on to what had happened and blushed. "Damn it, I didn't mean it like that!!" He sighed defeated. "Oh well... at least some good fortune smiled on me today."

"Good fortune?" Momiji asked, still in perverted state of mind.

Hiro smirked. "Yeah, I had a naked girl sitting in my equally naked lap for an hour."

Momiji suddenly looked envious. "Darn you, Hiro Sohma!!"

And with that parting shot, Hiro retreated back into the room. As soon as he closed the door, he leaned against it, and sighed. Only now had he started blushing. He really needed to stop hanging out with Momiji and Shigure for as long as possible.

Kisa was still soundlessly asleep on the bed, curled up slightly.

Hiro smiled at her, before taking his nightclothes with him, and ducking into the bathroom to change. He walked back in a moment later, laying on his back on the other side of the bed, close, but not too close to her.

Momiji was still a little shocked, and more than that, he was slightly embarassed. Yuki... Yuki was still quite shocked at what Hiro had said.

_If I'm turning into Hiro, then he's turning into Momiji, who's turning into Shigure..._ Yuki thought, his face suddenly going blank.

Kisa felt the bed move slightly and scooted closer to the warmer presence, wrapping her arms around one of his.

Hiro smiled, and looked at her. "Kisa..." he said softly, leaning over to kiss her forehead. He laid back, and felt his eyes droop shut. It seemed like it had been forever since they were both in human form and sleeping next to each other. It was better that way...

Yuki got up and excused himself, heading for his room to do some homework. _If I ever turn into a rat with a wool coat, someone's going to get hurt..._

Kisa continued to be in a very peaceful sleep as she slept there, and her bite marks had finally stopped bleeding.

Hiro yawned once more before falling asleep, the last thought he had was sitting naked in a forest with Kisa, and that he was almost regretful they weren't older...

The morning came and just barely shown through the window. Opening her eyes, Kisa remembered. It was Monday. And that meant there was school. And she'd be left alone with Shigure…. Oi ve…

There was a knock at the door, and Hiro groaned in annoyance, inadvertently grabbing Kisa like she was a pillow, and burying his face in the side of her neck, before even figuring out that she was a living thing and not a pillow. "Make it go away..." he mumbled, barely awake.

"H-Hiro-kun, I'm not a pillow…" Kisa muttered as she laughed softly and looked down at him.

Hiro groaned again. "I don't care... you were the first thing that was grab-able..." He sighed. "Miji wants me to go to school, doesn't he?"

"Yes…" Kisa muttered as she smiled softly and pulled her head away from him, still smiling as she sat up.

Hiro reluctantly let her go, before, turning and burying his head under his pillow. The door was once again knocked upon, and another groan could be heard from Hiro. "It's too early, leave me alone...!"

Kisa wandered over to the door and opened it, smiling gently.

Momiji bounded in, nearly knocking Kisa over as he pounced on the bed. "Guten Morgen, Hii-kun! Time to wake up!"

Hiro threw his pillow at Momiji and glared.

Kisa looked over as the pillow bounced off of Momiji and pelted her in the face, actually making her fall over this time. Laying there in a daze, Kisa rubbed her eyes again to see if this was a dream, and obviously it wasn't.

Hiro stared at Kisa, looking slightly shocked. "How did that happen?"

Momiji giggled, bouncing up and down lightly in his school uniform. "Doesn't matter... you have to get ready for school, Hii-kun!"

Hiro stared in horror at Momiji. "You've got to be kidding..."

Kisa's shocked look turned into a sad one for a split second, but she quickly put on a smile before she had hoped anyone noticed. Smiling softly, she looked towards the door and yawned, stretching.

Momiji grabbed Hiro around the neck, and began pulling him out of bed. "Come on, sleepy little sheep... time for school!"

Hiro struggled until he got his head out of Momiji's grasp. "But... I'm still sick, and Kisa... she'll be stuck here alone with Shigure!"

Kisa smiled at the commotion. "I'll be okay…" she muttered with a fake smile on her face. But inside, she didn't want him to go.

Momiji laughed again, and looked out the door. "Excuses, excuses, Hii-kun. You can't escape school so long as I'm here!"

Hiro was running out of options unless... "What if Akito comes to the school?"

Momiji paused, and looked at Hiro. "What if Akito comes to the school?"

"What am I going to tell him... her... it? He... she... whatever, Akito's going to want to know why I've been avoiding him... her... it...!!" Hiro protested, now sounding very enthusiastic. "And if Akito gets a hold of me...! She... he... whatever probably has figured out or is going to blame Kisa's escape on me!"

Momiji sat in silence for a moment. "Good point..."

Kisa snuck out of the room while they were arguing and wandered into the kitchen, where she was greeted by Tohru and cooked some pancakes. Yawning softly, Kisa nibbled on her food and stared at Shigure.

"You know it's not polite to stare" exclaimed Shigure as Kisa bowed her head.

Momiji's silence was broken again. "You... you still have to go! Akito can't take you from the school!"

Hiro walked up to Momiji until he was a scant inch from the rabbit, glaring. He raised a hand, and grabbed the bandage on Momiji's nose. He squeezed on it, until he saw tears in the rabbit's brown eyes. "I'm not going to school, Miji-kun," Hiro said sweetly, knowing their respective positions.

Kisa wandered over to the couch in silence after finishing her meal and curled up on the couch with her head on the arm. Looking around, she noticed that the TV was missing and sighed, closing her eyes.

Hiro walked out to get breakfast, leaving Momiji sniffling with a sore nose. Yuki was already almost done with breakfast, and by the time Hiro had started eating, Yuki was getting ready to leave.

"You're leaving early... I didn't think you had to for another half hour..." Hiro said, watching Yuki.

Yuki sighed. "Student Council..."

"Ahhh..." Hiro nodded, returning to his food, as Yuki went to get his shoes.

Momiji came out a moment later, a hand over his nose, and tears still in his eyes. He sat down, purposely avoiding Hiro.

Kisa yawned softly from the couch area and fell asleep easily. Tohru was all ready, but she didn't need to leave for a half hour. Kyo sat at the table, red eyes scanning the room.

Hiro stretched after finishing his meal, and stood up. He looked down at Momiji and Kyo, before turning back towards the main part of the house.

Momiji's nose was bleeding once again, and when Hiro's gaze passed over him, he flinched.

Kyo rolled his eyes at Hiro and Momiji before standing up and abruptly leaving the table.

Hiro finally found what he was looking for: Kisa laying on the couch in the living room. He smiled, and debated whether to disturb her or not by sitting down.

Kisa slept peacefully on the couch with her arms under her head and her legs pulled slightly towards her chest.

Hiro glanced back once again at the quiet form of Momiji, before walking in to the room, and sitting very softly and slowly on the couch, so as not to wake Kisa up.

"I did it again... why is it me that keeps hurting them? I think... there's something wrong with Momiji... I don't want to be mean to him... but he gets on my nerves so much that I just lash out at him to get him to knock it off..." Hiro whispered, he was talking to himself, but if he pretended that Kisa was awake and listening to him, it would make him feel better. "I guess someone has to act like a kid, huh...? Ah hell... I'm the one acting like a kid... and I think I may have... I don't know... hurt Momiji other than his nose... which was an accident by the way, he shouldn't have been sitting the way he was when he knew I was going to hit him!!" Hiro calmed himself, for he knew his whisperings were starting to get loud.

Even though Kisa was asleep, she seemed to be half taking this conversation in. "I-It's okay… Hiro-kun…." She mumbled in her sleep as she rolled over slightly, still light on her injuries.

Hiro sighed, and stretched out on the opposite side of the couch. "No... It's not all right at all... I've hurt more people worse than that so-called 'monster' that is the Cat... I wonder... did the previous Ram Juunishi have the same bad luck that I do? I should hope not..."

Kisa made no sound and breathed softly in her sleep.

"I'm really kinda glad you won't remember this..." Hiro muttered softly, looking over to where the television should be. "Maybe I should apologize to Momiji... hell, maybe I should apologize to everyone for being such a pain in the ass... Naw, then I'd sound like that idiot Ritsu... well... Miji's overdue for an apology from anyone lately... maybe if I don't feel like wallowing in self-pity, I'll at least give a quick sorry for breaking his nose. Oh man... he's going to try and jump me after that..." Hiro groaned, holding his head. "I hurt people and I can't even figure out a way to apologize for it... I really am bad at this living thing..."

Kisa stirred slightly in her sleep and slowly cracked open her eyes, but not enough to notice.

"Kisa... too... you deserve something for me being pathetic enough to try and kill you in my sleep, and then three days later having you save my life from some stupid thing that I should've been able to handle... I wish I wasn't such a kid..."

There was a thump, and Hiro looked up. It was Momiji, kneeling there in the doorway, looking at Hiro with teary eyes. "Stop it, Hiro. If you keep thinking like that, it will only end up making you think of worse things..."

Hiro scoffed and looked to the side. "What, you mean like suicide?" he laughed. "Only weak little lambs think of suicide..."

"Hiro..." Momiji said, growling angrily. "You haven't...!"

Kisa's ears twitched slightly as she listened to the conversation going on between Momiji and Hiro.

Hiro laughed, and shook his head. "Do I look like I'm capable of doing that?"

Momiji crossed his arms and tried to look stern. "But you've thought about it..."

"Oh the possibilities..." Hiro said softly. "Relax, Miji-kun. There's two Juunishi who I would think in any way have a reason to do that. There are two more whom I think would do it, and there's one that I want to do it. None of those include me."

Momiji was suddenly curious, but a glance at his watch revealed that it was time to leave. "You're explaining this when I get back!" he called, running down the hall.

Hiro just kept his head resting in his hand, and stared at the empty space that used to contain the television.

Kisa closed her eyes again, her thoughts full of curiosity. Tohru and Kyo rushed after Momiji.

Hiro cast a sidelong glance at Kisa. "Having fun listening?"

"Yes.." she muttered, knowing she had been found out as she opened her eyes and rolled onto her back. "But I don't understand…"

"Don't understand what?" Hiro asked calmly, his voice sounding oddly monotonous.

"You always say it… is IT suicide?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

Hiro gave her a blank stare. "You're kidding..." His mouth opened a little before he closed it and laughed. "Yes, what did you think I was talking about?"

"You are thinking of doing suicide are you?" Kisa asked with a somewhat serious face. She didn't answer his question, for she had been around Shigure for too long.

"No... It's more along the lines of 'what if?' I like thinking of the possible outcomes. Gives me something to do when I'm feeling morbid and a little self-loathing..." Hiro replied with a wave of his hand.

Kisa's look softened slightly and she sighed, closing her eyes. Yawning slightly, she turned over and laid down to where her head was facing Hiro.

"I wonder why the rabbit brought that up in the first place...?" Hiro asked softly, looking down at Kisa, and smiling lopsidedly. He stretched from head to toe. "Meh, it makes for a very uncomfortable topic anyway..." he continued to stare at the wall, wishing like crazy Shigure would replace the television soon.

Kisa yawned softly again and closed her eyes. "Yeah.. Uncomfortable.." she murmured as she began to fall asleep again.

"Well, today's looking up to being a perfectly boring day," Hiro said, yawning after Kisa. He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep as well, but he could tell it wasn't going to be easy.

Kisa fell asleep easily, curled up into a ball as she slept there, murmuring things every now and then in her sleep.

Hiro finally fell asleep as he was, after managing to find a comfortable position.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Kisa was in a deep sleep, though she heard several clicking noise. Slowly opening her eyes, she winced as a big flash blinded her. "S-Shigure-san…" she muttered.

Hiro's eyes snapped open, and immediately narrowed in a glare. "Shigure... eh?" he looked towards the door, the same glare on his face.

Shigure sweat dropped heavily and ran off with the camera quickly into his study.

Hiro leaned on the backrest of the couch, glaring deeply at the empty space that once held Shigure. "And I had just gotten to sleep, too..."

Kisa sat there rubbed her eyes, for the brightness wouldn't go away.

Hiro sighed loudly, and plopped back onto his back on the couch. "Baka inu..."

Finally the brightness faded away, but Shigure took yet another picture right in Kisa's face and Kisa fell over, eyes in a swirled pattern.

"That's it old man, you're dead," Hiro said, jumping up and running after Shigure, a vein pulsating red and angry on the back of his head.

Shigure sprinted for his study and slammed the doors shut, placing several pieces of furniture against it.

"Urgh... you stupid dog!" Hiro said, kicking the door once before stalking back into the living room. He looked down at Kisa. "Are you alright?"

Kisa nodded slightly, still rubbing her eyes and her head still throbbing against her skull.

"The first picture was fine, but flashing you in the eyes was mean..." Hiro growled, looking back towards Shigure's study. He sat back down on the couch, now severely wishing Shigure still had a television. Stupid Akito.

Kisa sighed softly and scooted over beside Hiro, slumping against him shyly.

Hiro looked down at her, and sighed. "You act so hesitant about it..." Hiro leaned a little towards her. "I don't bite, I don't have the teeth for it."

Kisa smiled softly and rested her head against him, using him as a pillow. "You make a good pillow Hiro-kun…"

Hiro smiled at her. "It's the wool. Gotta be the wool. Everyone loves cuddling the cute little lamb."

"Yup.." Kisa muttered softly as she scooted over and sat in his lap resting her head against his chest. She had discovered her new favorite spot.

Hiro lightly wrapped his arms around her, and placed his chin on top of her head. "I thought so."

Kisa smiled again and closed her eyes, getting ready to fall asleep again, but her sleep was disturbed by a clicking noise. "Eh?" she asked as she slowly began to open her eyes and Shigre took a picture before scurrying to his fort.

Hiro blinked hard, and swore after the author. "I'd offer to kill his family... but we're part of it..." Hiro grumbled. "How did I end up related to that idiot?!"

He sighed, and moved his hand so it rested against her injured side. "Are your ribs feeling any better?"

Kisa tried not to grimace when he touched her ribs, but it didn't work too well. "I'm not sure.." she mumbled.

Hiro drew his hand away quickly. "Sorry... It doesn't look like they are... I can't believe I broke them..."

"It's okay…" Kisa muttered as she smiled again and curled up against him happily.

"Alright, then, here's my question..." Hiro asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Why didn't you let go?"

"Because… I love you… And I wanted to be there for you…" she muttered softly as she looked up at him, turning her face up as well.

"It was just a dream..." He said, his voice still at the same pitch it was before. "You hurt yourself to help me with a dream that would've gone way anyway."

He looked back down at her. "Baka..."

"I'm sorry… but if it happened again, I would d the same…" she muttered softly.

"And I thought I had a thick skull..." Hiro muttered softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

Kisa smiled softly and allowed him to kiss her forehead. Just as his lips touched her skin, there was a flash of light and the sound of scurrying away.

"What a gullible idiot..." Hiro said, amusement coloring his voice. He took one hand and lifted Kisa's chin up so he could kiss her softly, but quickly on her lips, so Shigure wouldn't have enough time to gather courage and look around the corner again.

Shigure didn't even have a chance at that one.

Kisa blushed slightly and Shigure locked himself back in his study. "Hiro-kun…" she muttered softly as she kissed his cheek lightly and smiled.

"I know, I know... I outsmarted the crafty canine..." he chuckled softly; ignoring the pink tinge his cheeks had taken on since he kissed her forehead. "Baka inu..."

"Hiro-kun… It's okay… Shigure-san is… Shigure-san…" she muttered as she smiled softly and looked up at him, still in his lap.

Hiro shook his head. "I still won..." He chuckled, looking back towards the study.

Shigure was peeking through the door and when he saw Hiro's stare, he slammed the door quickly.

Hiro smirked, and put his chin back on top of Kisa's head. "I like this no school thing... gives me more time with you," He whispered softly, giving her a very light squeeze with his arms.

Kisa blushed slightly again and smiled softly. "But… what about Akito-sama?" she asked, the thought remaining in her head since they took her away. Reaching up slightly, she placed her hands upon his arms and smiled softly, putting her head in the corner of his right armpit.

"Akito-sama... I don't care... he's... she's not going to bother us..." Hiro said, a vow audible in the tone of his voice. "Even if Akito does come back around... I'm not going to let him get to me. Controlling freak..." The insult was an empty one, Hiro knew. He couldn't truly insult Akito.

Kisa closed her eyes in silence, cuddling up against him happily.

Hiro sighed softly, and pressed his lips against the top of her head. "I'm most definitely going to have to do this more often..."

"Oh really?" Shigure asked as he snatched a picture of them sitting there. "What are you going to do next. Take her to your room and violate her?" he asked with a I'm-Right-Aren't-I? Look.

Hiro rolled his eyes, and mustered up the most sarcastic smirk he could. Which was actually almost perfect. "Yes, Shigure. I'm going to drag her to my room, throw her down on the bed and violate her in round after round of hot monkey sex. And afterwards, you will be allowed to crack sheep sex jokes at every opportunity possible around her," Hiro's voice was as sarcastic as the look on his face. "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of, let's leash the dog and take him for a walk to go buy a new television."

Kisa blushed as Hiro spoke, but she knew that he was lying.

Shigure grumbled. "You're too rash with the love scenes…" Sighing, he caved in. "FINE!"

"Well, I think I did pretty well considering my current experience with sex," Hiro said smugly, motioning for Kisa to move so he could stand up. "And that's a good puppy... now... let's go for a walk..."

Kisa slouched to all fours and crawled out of Hiro's lap. Yawning softly, she sat there, looking up at Shigure.

"Yeah yeah…" Shigure grumbled.

Hiro stood up and stretched, one of his knees popping in the process. "Wow... I was sitting for longer than I thought I was..."

He looked over at Shigure. "Well?"

"All right already!" Shigure yelped as he walked briskly to the door. "But I do think that Kisa-chan should stay here…"

Hiro looked back at Kisa, and frowned. "Stay here?" He crossed his arms and looked at Shigure. "And what if Akito drops by to have another look around the house? What if the place is robbed, and the robbers have nothing to lose? What if there's some sort of pervert out there that's worse than you, if that is possible, that decides to go after this particular house. What if a vicious wild animal attacks?"

"What if Kisa passes out while in the store and people see all of her wounds?" Shigure inquired.

Hiro rolled his eyes. "Why don't we ask her? She knows better than either of us if she's up for going out or not..."

Shigure's eyes turned to Kisa, who cowered slightly at the stare and hid behind Hiro, gripping onto the hem of his shirt tightly.

Hiro stared back at Shigure, and without blinking asked, "Kisa, do you think you feel well enough to go outside, or would you rather wait back here for us?"

"I don't want to be alone…" she muttered softly as she looked up at Hiro quietly, her eyes explaining why.

Hiro looked back sympathetically. "I know you want to go... but will you be able to go? Are you feeling well enough? Because if not..." he looked back at Shigure. "I suppose we might be able to wait."

"I can go…" Kisa muttered as she looked up at Hiro still, eyes becoming watery from not blinking.

Hiro nodded and looked at Shigure. "There, it's decided."

He moved back towards the room. "Just let me get my jacket... Kisa, if you're coming you should, too."

Kisa nodded, running her fingers through her hair after grabbing her jacket from her bag. Putting it on herself, she zipped it up to her mid chest and put on small gloves.

Hiro waited until Kisa was safely out of the room before changing quickly into heavier clothes. He walked out of the bedroom, still pulling on his gloves, a scarf draped over his shoulders, waiting to be placed around his neck.

He looked at Shigure. "Alright. Let's get moving."

Shigure sighed as he slipped on his shoes and jacket, soon followed suit by Kisa, who therefore waited for Hiro. Finally, the trio left the house and wandered to the nearest store, searching for a suitable TV.

Hiro ran to catch up with Kisa, and grabbed her hand as they walked, standing close to her, but not too close. "So, you do know where there's a television store around here, right?" Hiro asked Shigure, looking up at the older Sohma.

"Actually… No.." Shigure muttered as he sweat dropped. "We'll just wander…" he chimed in as he continued to sweat drop.

Kisa looked down at Hiro's hand and smiled lightly, holding it gently.

Hiro gripped his forehead with his free hand. "That's just great. I'm going to end up lost in the city, aren't I?" He sighed. "Do you know of any electronics stores whatsoever?"

"Not at all… And I guess Aya's shop wouldn't be a place to l- AYA! We can ask him if he knows any shops!" Shigure barked slightly as he laughed.

Hiro smiled, and shook his head. "Of course... let's ask the snake... he's only been working in the city for how many years..." Hiro laughed. "Oh look, Shigure actually had a good idea."

Several thoughts began to run through Kisa's head.

"And Kisa-chan… Aya WILL want to try outfits on you…" Shigure muttered as he smirked, glad that he brought his camera along.

Kisa blushed at the mere thought and smiled softly, pretending everything would be all right, but actually, she was quite scared.

"They better be the latest _winter_ fashions," Hiro muttered softly, looking to Kisa. "He can't see those bruises..."

Kisa smiled softly as she looked up at Hiro, and within a short walking distance, they arrived at Aya's shop. "Oh Kisa-chaaaaaan!" Called an oddly familiar voice as Aya walked out in his robe and scooped up Kisa into a large hug, which made her grimace only slightly. But inside she tried to calm herself from crying.

"Aya-san…" she muttered softly as Aya put her down.

"Sooo…. What are you three doing?"

"Looking for a TV…" Kisa answered absentmindedly.

Aya's face turned a strange pinkish color. "Oh, Kisa! I have some new outfits I want you to try on!" Aya muttered as he ushered the three of them into the shop.

Hiro stared around at the frilly girl's attire and shuddered slightly, but not from the cold. There was way too much of a feminine air in the shop to sit well with him. He followed at the back of the precession, trying not to tell Aya off for hugging Kisa the way he did. Hiro knew it had hurt, and he winced along with her.

Mine, who took her hand and led her away with clothes in her arms, soon greeted Kisa. "OOO SO CUTE!" she squealed from the dressing room. She had noticed the large bruises, which made her eyes twitch and avert themselves before she drew attention to them. Kisa walked out in a silver/gray looking ball dress with sleeves that crawled up to her elbows. Ayame made her spin slightly for him and squealed in delight.

Hiro felt his cheeks heat up as he watched her, and then quickly averted his eyes. He muttered something about the whole damn place being too frilly, and kept staring pointedly at the ground.

"Look... do you know... where there's a television store around here?" Hiro asked after a moment, still watching the ground intently. He didn't know why he was feeling self-conscious all of a suddenly. He had, after all, seen at least part of her naked only the day before.

It had to be that he was around other people.

Aya clasped his hands together as Kisa was dragged off quickly behind the curtains, where she was attacked by Mine.

"There's one across the street…" he muttered as he looked at the door in silence.

Kisa stepped out in a deep blue maids dress, and instantly Shigure took a picture.

Hiro muttered a quick 'thanks' to Aya, and was about to get up and wander over to the shop to look at TVs while the others gawked at Kisa and the dresses. He was stopped however when Shigure took the picture, and was tempted enough to turn and look at what it was.

This time the blush was deeper, going all the way out to the tips of his ears. He growled, trying to sound angry, and once again clasped his hand to his forehead. "Why are you so good at this, Ayame...?" he growled.

"What, at making her look cuuuute?" Aya asked, as he looked over at Kisa in a cheerful mood.

Kisa was dragged back into the changing room and soon came out in a yellow long coat with an orange-ish red skirt and knee high socks that covered most of the bite wounds.

"Yes..." Hiro mumbled under his breath, hoping Ayame wouldn't hear his answer. This newest outfit made him smile at her, amusement flickering in his brown eyes.

"She's already soooo cute!" Mine chimed in as she pulled Kisa away again and fitted on a big sweater that hung just to her knees and the sleeves were a little too long. The sweater was actually just a little bigger than Hiro's size. Getting some distinctive ideas, Shigure snapped some pictures, grinning.

Hiro laughed, ignoring the dog and his camera. "You look like you've just woken up..." He raised an eyebrow at her. "This is a little odd for Ayame's fashion sense..."

"I shall call it the 'Sleeping with Hiro' look…" muttered Shigure, snickering slightly.

Kisa looked confused as she was dragged back in and changed into very cute pajamas with little sheep on top of clouds. "Very appropriate.." Aya muttered as Kisa yawned softly.

Hiro clenched his jaw and his fist at Shigure's comment, and looked around briefly for something to throw at the perverted author.

When he didn't find anything that could cause enough pain, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked sullen.

The look changed, however, when he saw Kisa, and he began laughing again. "Appropriate? Try ironic."

Aya rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to put YOU in an outfit?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kisa finally got back into her normal clothes, and Mine began to ask about her bruises.

Hiro rolled his eyes, and smirked at Ayame. "If you did that, you might as well call me Ritsu... or worse... Ayame... I think I would rather sleep with Akito..." He turned away from the snake with an arrogant wave of his hand, as he walked towards Kisa.

Mine was looking at the bruises, inspecting them in silence. "So you tripped?" she asked as Kisa nodded.

Hiro turned around, and leaned against the wall outside of the changing rooms, listening quietly to the conversation. He waited for a pause in the conversation. "There's a TV store across the street, conveniently enough."

"Kisa wandered out of the room and smiled up at Hiro. "Yay!" she muttered cheerfully, staying clear of Aya.

"Yeah, that means we can finally get our TV, and Shigure can stop taking pictures," Hiro said happily, looking towards Shigure for the last bit of his sentence.

Shigure felt a dawning presence upon him and looked of at Hiro nervously. Sweat dropping, he turned is attention back to Aya.

Kisa yawned softly again and slumped against Hiro. "This walking is tiring…" she mumbled softly.

Hiro held her gently and sighed. "Yeah, but all we have to do is go across the street, pick out a tv, and then go back... It'll be easy..." he lightly rubbed her back with one hand.

"Kay Hiro-kun…" she muttered sleepily. Aya, looking over at Kisa, held a small bag in is hands. Giving it to Kisa, he smiled. "Your favorite pajamas…" He muttered as he smiled, Shigure smirking as well.

Hiro pointedly ignored both of the older Sohmas in the shop before pushing slightly on Kisa's back. "Come on, the sooner we get the television, the sooner we can go back and go to sleep."

Kisa nodded slightly. "Arigtao Aya-san…" she muttered softly as she bowed and carried the bag with her as if it was her prized possession. Shigure soon followed after.

Hiro walked alongside Kisa as they went across the street and to the television store. He sighed softly as they stepped through the door, and were blasted with warm air and the plastic and rubber scent of electronics. He began walking towards the wall that had Television pronounce on a big sign.

Kisa heard a faint "Mogeta" noise in the background and wandered off, searching for the TV. Alas, she came upon it and watched a Mogeta preview on the screen. Shigure huffed and followed after her.

Hiro wanted to roll his eyes, but knew it would probably hurt Kisa. "Oh look... a new Mogeta... thing. How fun, we'll have to see that one," Hiro added happily, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. Truth was, he didn't like Mogeta, but Kisa did, so he just grinned and bared it. He looked around at the mass amounts of televisions decorating the walls and whistled softly. "This will be fun to choose."

Kisa looked over at Hiro and tilted her head slightly. Yawning softly, she watched both him and Shigure. Shigure wandered around, looking for a TV.

Hiro walked over to the really expensive looking wide screen TVs. He poked one, and watched the screen ripple under his touch. "Too bad we couldn't go liquid crystal..."

Kisa watched Hiro curiously, paying no attention to the Mogeta Show. Standing up, she heard a tapping of glass behind her and she turned around noticing Aya, standing there and smiling. Yelping loudly, Kisa bolted for Hiro and hid behind him.

Hiro turned around, and fixed a stare on Ayame. "What does he want?"

"I was just wondering if you saw Yuki lately." He called through the window, and people gave him strange stares.

Kisa nodded her head slightly and continued to hide behind Hiro, exhausted and her breaths uneven from being scared.

Hiro rolled his eyes, and continued to look at Ayame. "Yes, what do you want with him?"

"I wanted to know his progress…" Aya answered as he smirked.

"Onee-chan?" Kisa asked, tilting her head.

"Of course!"

Hiro looked a little lost, until he figured it out. "I don't... I'm not very good at telling things like that..." He sighed. "Sorry, I can't help. Though we have seen them out going towards Yuki's garden more than once."

"Ahh… That could be dangerous…" Shigure muttered, suddenly appearing behind them.

Hiro jumped, stiffening slightly, then glared at Shigure. "Don't do that, dammit."

He turned back to the window. "If you would come inside, Ayame, I'm sure we could talk more. And better!"

Ayame "Hpmh"ed and wandered inside lazily.

"What?" Hiro asked as the snake finally caught up to them. "It was getting too weird to keep yelling through the glass. Especially about something like that."

"Yeah… But, I assume that Yuki and Tohru are at school?" he asked.

Kisa nodded slightly and looked around nervously. Shigure nodded as well.

Hiro rolled his eyes. "Of course he's at school. He's too much of a goody-two-shoes to ditch a day."

Aya sighed. "Fine fine… I just want to talk to my little brother…"

Hiro's eyes went wide for a moment. "Don't tell me you're going to go to his school?"

"If I can…" he muttered, stroking his chin. "Hmm…."

Hiro shook his head, and clutched it with one hand. "Why would you go down to the school and interrupt him in his daily life, when you can have plenty of time to do that after he gets home..."

He sighed and looked over at Shigure. "Did you find something?"

"OH! That's a good idea Hiro.. That I will.. I'll drop by later this afternoon" he called as he left to go off to his store.

Shigure grumbled. "Yes…" he pointed out a medium sized TV. "How will we get it home?"

Hiro smirked at Shigure. "I don't know. Ask them if they deliver. I sure as hell am not going to carry it..."

Shigure sighed and walked over to the cashier. After a small chat, he walked back. "We'll have to wait for two days…" he told them.

Hiro shrugged. "Works for me..."

He looked Kisa. "Right?"

Kisa nodded, her eyes slightly droopy.

"Are you all right Kisa-chan?" Shigure asked with a concerned look, to which isa only nodded again.

Hiro looked concerned, and turned back to Shigure. "We should head back now, buy the TV and let's get going..."

Just as Shigure turned to buy the TV, there was a slight thump on the ground. Turning, he stared at Kisa in horror; Kisa asleep on the ground, red streaks across her cheeks. "Kisa… Kisa?" he called as he walked towards her and Kisa did not respond.

Hiro stared in shock, before shaking his head, and kneeling beside Kisa. "She must have been really tired. Let's get out of here."

Shigure nodded, quickly paid for the TV, and picked his up onto his back, carrying her along. "She feels warm…" Shigure muttered softly, as to not wake her up.

"Well..." Hiro said looking at his hands. "We're both technically still sick..." he followed Shigure out of the store, his eyes only on Kisa.

"Does that mean I'll have to carry you too?" Shigure asked as he looked back at Hiro and Kisa.

"I may be sick, Shigure, but I can make it back just fine," Hiro snapped defensively.

Shigure released a somewhat relieved sigh as he carried Kisa nack to the house. With a sigh, Shigure placed Kisa gently into her bed and tucked her under the covers.

Hiro looked at the clock as he seated himself at the table. It was already getting close to the time the other members of the household would be getting home. Great, some real company.

Kisa slept soundlessly in the bed. Shigure walked out and sat down across from Hiro. "Soooo… What are you two up to lately?" he asked, trying to make a conversation.

"Hmmm..." Hiro thought for a moment. "Besides her being in the cage, then getting sick, then getting ME sick, then me kicking her ribs to death... then running off in the forest, and getting attacked by a fox that she had to save me from, afterwards I had her sitting naked in my lap for an hour... I'd say not much."

"You just love to boast about Kisa sitting in your lap naked don't you?" Shigure asked as he arched an eyebrow.

Hiro smirked, and picked up his hand in the universal sign for 'a little bit'. "Sukoshi."

Shigure rolled his eyes. "Yeah Yeah…. Rub it in…"

"Really now, Shigure... you're the biggest pervert I know. That should happen all the time with you," Hiro waved his hand from side to side as he smirked with his eyes closed. "Honestly now... especially since you're such a famous author..."

"I wish…" Shigure muttered. "High school girls in short skirts!" he yelped as he began to think bout those two objects.

"Of course..." Hiro sighed, putting both hands on his face. "You really are... what you should be..."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Shigure asked, tilting his head.

Kisa awoke sleepily, but didn't budge. She just lay there quietly. I said I'd be all right… But I was wrong… again… she thought as she sighed mentally.

Hiro turned his head until he was looking out of the corner of his eye at Shigure. "It means you're a perverted old man, of course. Just what I said."

"Riiiiight…" Shigure mumbled as he rolled his eyes.

From inside Kisa's room, there was a particularly loud sneeze.

Hiro smiled back at Shigure and laughed. "Nevermind..." He put his head in one and sighed when he heard the sneeze. "I'll be right back..." He got up and headed towards Kisa's room.

Kisa's face was entirely flushed as she heard footsteps coming towards her door. Instinctively, she covered her head with the blanket and shivered slightly for no reason.

Hiro knocked on the door lightly to let her know she had company, and then paused for a moment before opening the door. He poked his head in, and nothing else. "Are you feeling all right?"

He wasn't sure if she was awake or not by this point.

Kisa remained quiet under the sheets until she sneezed again, and the great mass on the bed shivered.

Hiro raised an eyebrow. "Are you awake over there?" He walked in the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Yeah…" she muttered softly from under the covers as she sniffled and shivered again.

"More importantly..." He sat down at the end of the bed. "Are you feeling any better?"

There came no answer as she popped her head out of the edge of the blanket. She stifled a yawn and watched him in silence.

Hiro turned around, sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed, facing her. "I guess you must be feeling somewhat better if you're talking to me..."

Kisa smiled and nodded in silence, though her cheeks were flushed. "I.. Hope that you don't get sick again…" she muttered softly.

Hiro put a finger on his chest. "Who, me? Nah, I'm healthy as an ox!"

He coughed behind his hand. "Alright, maybe not, but I can't get sick while I'm still recovering."

Kisa smiled. "You're alright then?" she asked as she crawled out from under the covers, but sat a distance away from him, as not to give him her cold.

Hiro smiled softly at her. "Well, yeah for the most part... are your ribs feeling any better?" He winced as he said it.

"Yes.." she muttered half truthfully. She didn't want to hurt Hiro. Her wounds were just passing the highest range of pain.

Hiro looked away, trying not to apologize yet again for doing that to her. "Here, next time you have a nightmare, you can maul me, do we have a deal?" He winked at her, and smiled.

Kisa smiled and laughed softly through her hand as she coughed. "Of course…" she muttered in a slightly playful way.

"Ahhh… young love…" Shigure muttered, still in the living room.

"Then we have a deal," Hiro said, giving her the thumbs-up. "So... you need anything?"

Kisa shook her head slightly and let out a small yawn, but her eyes were still turned towards him.

Hiro put his elbows on his knees, and cradled his head in his hands as he looked back. "Are you sure you don't want or need anything?"

Kisa nodded with a small smile. In an attempt to be sitting on her knees, she fell over next to him, on her back and smiled. "I'm becoming more like onee-chan…"

Hiro slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oi... yes you are... you're slowly morphing into that dum-" He sighed. "Nevermind. Stop that!"

Kisa smiled softly again and looked up at him with her orange eyes. "Sorry…"

Hiro looked away, blushing lightly. "You're even acting like her... you don't need to apologize for anything..."

"S-.. I …." She muttered as she sighed softly, giving up at she watched him with eyes half open. "You're cheeks are red Hiro-kun…" she muttered softly. She had no room to speak, for her cheeks were entirely flushed.

"Oh, I'm blushing am I?" Hiro stated looking back at her with an eyebrow raised, his cheeks still slightly tinged pink. He poked her gently on her cheekbone with one hand. "Look at yourself."

"I-I have a reason Hii-kun…" she muttered, for she did have a fever. Coughing softly into her elbow, she sighed.

Hiro rolled his eyes. "I know, you're sick and injured..." he flopped down on his stomach next to her and sighed softly. "I wish you would get better now..."

"I'm getting better…" she muttered as she smiled and took one of Hiro's hands into hers and smiled.

He squeezed her hand lightly. "Yeah, I know. But... it's not going fast enough, damn it!" He sighed again. "I'm being an impatient little kid again..."

"Yes… Hiro-kun.. But you can't help that…" she muttered with a small laugh. Smiling again, she placed her head against his shoulder and sighed.

Hiro felt the blush return to his cheeks, but he smiled contentedly. "Oh well... at least you being incapacitated for so long has had its perks."

"Perks?" she asked with her head tilted slightly.

Hiro laughed. "Yes... I've gotten to spend so much time with you..."

"So you are happy?" she asked as her head throbbed slightly.

Hiro grinned at her, and hugged her lightly. "Happy... doesn't even begin to cover it."

Kisa smiled softly at his embrace and returned it with her own, but she was careful not to grimace or anything that would draw his attention to her ribs.

Hiro stood up after a moment, and headed towards the door. "As long as you're alright, then."

Kisa watched him head to the door in sadness and sighed softly, her fever returning to her full attention as she grimaced slightly without his notice. Silently, she sat there and nodded, waiting for him to leave so she wouldn't show her pained emotion.

Hiro closed the door behind him. "Why am I always hurting her? I'm so bad at this... I thought the year of the ram was supposed to be one of the most of not the most romantic..." he whispered, leaning against the door for a moment. He closed his eyes before pushing off the door and heading back out to the living room. People were due to be home at any time, now anyway.

Kisa had quickly curled up into her ball, tears fleeing from the corners of her eyes. Closing her eyes, she cried softly and soundlessly. She hated inconveniencing people. She coughed softly from under the blankets and remained with her eyes closed.

Tohru and Kyo were the first to arrive at home, both of them very silent. Shigure looked up at them with a very queer looking face.

Hiro raised his eyebrow at them. "What happened with you two? Is someone pregnant?" He smirked at his smart-assed remark, and looked pointedly at Tohru. "And it's NOT Yuki's baby is it... for shame..."

Tohru's mouth gaped and Kyo wandered forward with vein marks upon his forehead. Instinctively, he picked Hiro up by the collar and shoved him against the wall. "You smart ass!" he growled. Tohru and Shigure intervened and spread the two apart quickly, Tohru taking Kyo and Shigure taking Hiro.

After Kyo cooled down, Tohru snuck off to visit Kisa.

Hiro snickered at Kyo, and waved dramatically. "I thought so!"

There came a loud giggling from the back of the room. "Hiro-kun's spent too much time with Shigure!"

Yuki just walked in, rolling his eyes.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Tohru walked into Kisa's door after gaining permission and soon felt a small child embrace her quickly. Looking down, she looked at Kisa and smiled. "Daijobu ka Kisa-chan?" she asked as she hugged Kisa in return. Kisa made no attempt to reply as her forehead felt very hot.

Tohru placed a hand against Kisa's forehead and her eyes widened. "Kisa-chan!" she yelled slightly as she felt Kisa fall suddenly limp, as she did in the electronic store. Holding her there, Tohru began to panic.

Hiro stiffened at hearing Tohru's panicked voice, and then bolted from the room towards the bedroom. Momiji and Yuki both had to dive comically out of the way before they were bowled over by Hiro.

The sheep Juunishi arrived at the door, looking at Kisa and Tohru, and his legs froze in place.

Momiji walked up behind him and looked concerned. "That's not good..."

"W-What do I do?!" Tohru yelped, still panicking as she held Kisa gingerly, as if she would shatter at the slightest movement.

Kisa remained limp against Tohru, eyes closed and facial expressions looking as if she was in terrible pain.

"Hatori will be of no help now. We must get her to the hospital as quickly as we can…" Shigure muttered quickly as if all of his words were slurred together.

Hiro's brain barely comprehended what Shigure had said, he was halfway panicked by now. He didn't know what he should do, until Momiji grabbed him.

"Calm down, Hii-kun... it'll be alright, the hospital will take care of everything," Momiji said reassuringly to his younger cousin, but he couldn't hide the doubt from his voice. He looked sympathetically at the sandy-haired boy that was shaking slightly, and staring wide-eyed at Kisa.

Yuki, naturally, was the calmest. "I don't suppose I should call for an ambulance...?"

Shigure turned to Yuki and managed to smile. "Of course!" he barked with a sheepish grin.

Kyo was standing there, pretending not to panic, but he wasn't very good at that factor.

"H-Hiro-k-kun… W-Would you mind taking Kisa-chan?" Tohru asked Hiro as she intended to get some ice.

Yuki headed towards the phone, and picked it up, dialing the emergency number (I have no idea what it is in Japan...), the operator picked up instantly. Yuki quickly began to explain the situation.

Hiro fought free of Momiji's grasp, and walked shakily over to Kisa and Tohru. He couldn't take his eyes off the young tigress, as his stomach flipped over. He kneeled down to take Kisa from Tohru so she could get the ice.

Tohru gently laid Kisa in Hiro's arms and rushed off to the kitchen.

Kisa lay in Hiro's arms, her breathing broken as she struggled with it.

Yuki walked back over to where everyone had gathered. "They'll be here in but a few minutes..." this time, he didn't even try to hide the worry in his voice.

"She'll be alright, right guys?" Momiji asked timidly, tears in the corners of his eyes. "Right?"

Hiro was already crying. "She better be!! It was my fault that this happened in the first place, and I'll be damned if I let her go now..." He watched through blurry eyes as a few sparkling tears dripped off his nose and landed on her stomach.

Shigure looked sadly at the unconscious Kisa and sighed. "S-She'll be all right…" he muttered in a somewhat choked voice.

Tohru hurried back with a thermometer and ice pack. Taking her temperature first, Tohru's bottom jaw fell open and she looked at the numeric figures on the thermometer. "105…." She muttered softly.

Hiro looked sadly over at Kisa, and shook his head rapidly. "She'll be all right... she'll be all right," he repeated this to himself over and over, trying to believe it.

Momiji turned away from the room, and sniffled, then cried into his elbow. He listened to Hiro's quiet chant, hoping that it would prove true.

Yuki just stared in silence until he heard the distant wail of ambulance sirens. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as the sound continued to get louder.

Tohru, Shigure, and Kyo all seemed to sigh at the very same time.

Suddenly, there was a loud, abrupt knocking at the door, and Yuki dashed for the door to open it.

The ambulance team rushed in through the door, a stretcher between them. They moved in a blur, approaching Kisa.

Hiro only reluctantly let go, and Momiji just kept hiding his face in the crook of his elbow.

The ambulance team looked Kisa over quickly, before putting her on the stretcher.

Kisa grimaced as she was placed on the stretcher. It was as if every nerve was bare. She trembled slightly as she released a shaky breath. The ambulance put a thick blanket over her and began to carry her and the stretcher out of the house.

"C-Can one of us go with?" Tohru asked, looking down at Hiro. The ambulance team stood there for a second and nodded. Tohru pushed Hiro towards the door quickly. "Take care of her Hiro-kun…"

Hiro sniffed deeply, then looked up at Tohru, before wiping his face off on his sleeve and jumping in the ambulance. The sirens sounded, and there was a slight pull to one side as the ambulance turned around, and headed back towards the hospital.

One of the paramedics turned to look at Hiro. "So, what's your relation to her? The boyfriend? We usually only let family members in here."

Hiro nodded, before wiping his eyes again, and watching Kisa. "I know."

The paramedic looked at him. "So you're a relative?"

Hiro nodded. "I'm her cousin."

"Ah, so you're not the boyfriend," The paramedic turned back, and began fiddling with the equipment.

"I'm both," Hiro replied softly, his eyes still glued on Kisa.

The paramedic paused for a second in his work before shaking his head, and continuing.

Yuki looked around. "I think we're overdue for a trip to the hospital," He said once the sirens had faded enough for everyone to be able to hear his soft voice. "I'll call Haru, he'll want to know."

"You're going to call the cow?!" Kyo yapped as he looked from side to side.

"Bad idea… but… yes… he deserves to know…" Shigure muttered as he sighed.

Tohru was very close to tears as she stood there.

Yuki shot a sidelong glance at Kyo. "What if he were to come over to the house, wanting to visit Kisa, and we conveniently forgot to tell him she's in the hospital? I think telling him now, would be better than telling him later, when he could get really violent. Stupid cat..." Yuki picked up the phone, and dialed Haru. A moment later, he was speaking with the ox.

Momiji sniffled, and finally withdrew his face from his arm. He looked at Tohru, and desperately wished that he could hug her without transforming.

A second later a scream could be heard from where Yuki was standing, and everyone looked over to where Yuki was holding the phone at arms length away from his ear.

Shigure watched the phone, trying not to laugh. Tohru looked up, tears still watering her eyes. "H-Haru-k-kun is upset?" she asked as she sweat dropped slightly.

Yuki sweat dropped with her. "Just a little."

Momiji smiled, though it wasn't one of his usual big smiles. "Of course he's upset. He only almost thinks of her as his little sister."

Yuki sighed, and put the phone back against his ear, trying to reason with the ox, and calm him down.

Shigure sighed and put a finger to his chin. "How are we going to get to the hospital?" he asked aloud.

Yuki finally managed to hang up the phone, Haru still finishing his rant. "Doesn't anyone in this family have a car? We own massive estates and yet no one has a car..." He stopped, and his mouth dropped open. He clutched a hand to his forehead. "I really am turning into Hiro..."

Momiji laughed softly, and looked around. "I don't know. I wish one of us turned into a giant eagle so we could fly there..."

Hiro continued to watch Kisa, as the ambulance rounded another corner and slowed down. He looked out the back windows and saw the sign for the hospital. The ambulance team worked quickly, and soon enough they were walking quickly down one of the long corridors of the hospital.

Kisa was now wearing an oxygen mask as they rushed her towards the intensive care part of the hospital. One of the nurses placed a hand on Hiro's shoulder. "You must wait in the waiting room…" she ordered him in a soft voice as he pointed towards down the hall.

Shigure sighed. "Do you think we could get a cab to go out of its way to get here?" he asked.

"Cabs go anywhere as long as you're willing to pay the price," Yuki pointed out, looking at Shigure. "And I don't think many of us can afford our own cab fare."

Momiji smiled, a tinge of evility behind it.

Hiro, in the hospital, walked back slowly, and heavily to one of the chairs in the waiting room, and collapsed into it, slumping deeply. He couldn't get rid of the lump in his throat, nor the pain in his chest every time his heart beat. "Why me...?" He questioned softly.

Shigure sighed. "Fine!" he grumbled as he called for a cab. One cab. "We'll just have to squeeze in… and I presume all of you are coming?" he asked. "Hmm… If I got Tohru to hug most of you, you could ride in the trunk!" he said with another queer smile.

Momiji grinned, and ran right into Tohru, disappearing in a cloud of smoke with a loud poof! "I can sit on her lap!"

Yuki sighed. "It's easy to keep a rat hidden... But we'd need a change of clothes for when we got to the hospital. I don't think they'd allow animals inside."

"And the cab driver… Hmmm…" Shigure muttered.

Tohru sweat dropped as she held Momiji.

Kyo sweat dropped largely as he looked at Tohru, who sweat dropped again.

Shigure, being evil, shoved both Yuki and Kyo into Tohru. "You bastard dog!" Grumbled Kyo, now in his cat form.

Momiji giggled, and Yuki looked up at Tohru.

"Do you have a pocket somewhere I could ride in?" the little gray rat asked. "That way there's no chance that I could change back" He turned back to Shigure. "She's going to have to hold them both now. And you better bring along clothes for us to change into!"

Hiro kept staring at the clock, but only five minutes had passed since the time he had first sat down. He placed a hand over his eyes, and sighed softly. Suddenly, his attention was drawn back by a tug on his shirt. He looked down into the light brown eyes of a small child.

"Excuse me mister..." the child said in a voice that had an odd lisp.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Are you waiting for someone, too?"

Hiro rolled his eyes. "No, I just enjoy hanging out in the waiting room of hospitals..."

"Oh, well..." the child took a seat in the chair next to him. "I'm waiting for my sister..."

Hiro looked back. "Really?"

"Yeah, she was crossing the street, and suddenly this big truck came out of nowhere, and the next thing I know, my parents were driving me really fast to this place." The child said, smiling. "She'll be alright, though, she didn't slide very far..."

Hiro felt his stomach do a flip, and he looked away from the child.

Tohru took a gym bag full of clothes and a very large coat. Shigure hurried off and called a cab, which arrived soon enough. He filed into the cab and laughed smugly at Tohru, whose pockets were bulging.

Yuki was about to yell at Shigure to shut up, but remembered that he was not supposed to be there. So instead he nestled himself into one of the pockets, and actually found it to be quite comfortable.

Momiji sighed silently, hoping that everything would be okay when they got there.

Hiro kept staring at the floor, this child had no concept of life or death!

"What's the matter mister?" The child asked softly.

Hiro sighed. "I'm waiting for my g-... my cousin. She got really sick... and she also got pretty badly injured."

Suddenly, a door swung open, and a doctor came out, pulling down on his facemask. It was only then that Hiro noticed the couple sitting in the corner of the waiting room, holding each other. They both looked up hopefully at the doctor. There was a long silence before the doctor finally shook his head. The woman began wailing, and gripped the man tightly, and the man clung to her just as tightly.

The child looked back over at the two adults. "I wonder if that meant onee-san is coming back!"

Hiro felt his throat constrict, and his heart feel even sorer as he thought of the same situation happening to him.

The child hummed merrily, and skipped back to his mother, who scooped him up in her arms, and cried some more.

Hiro didn't know if he could feel any more miserable.

The cab arrived at the hospital and Shigure paid the cab driver in full before turning to Tohru. "Maybe I should take over…" he muttered as she nodded and handed him the trench coat and hurried off with the duffle bag to the bathroom, locking it behind them as he gave the animals their clothes.

Tohru walked over to a counter and was about to ask where Kisa Souma was, but noticed Hiro sitting in a chair a few yards away from her. Quickly, she rushed over to him. "H-Hiro-kun… Are you all right? Will Kisa be alright?"

"I don't know..." He rasped, his throat still feeling tight. "I'm... I'm fine physically..." he covered his eyes with his hand as more tears threatened to spill out. "But it hurts... everywhere else..."

Momiji and Yuki both dressed quickly and slipped out of the room. The receptionist didn't even seem to notice that that bathroom had spawned three new people.

They both walked over to Hiro, about to ask the same question, but he waved them off with a hand. "I don't know... alright? I don't know..."

A few hours passed and Tohru had soon fallen asleep in her chair, for the day was getting later. Finally, a doctor walked out of Kisa's intensive care room and looked at the newcomers.

Hiro sat up straight, his face very, very pale. In doing so, he nearly knocked Momiji out of his chair. The rabbit had been rubbing the sheep's back for the last span of minutes. Yuki had been idly watching the television, but not really paying attention.

"So... wha... what's going on?" Hiro asked nervously, his voice breaking, and he cleared his throat.

"She's…. Going to be fine…"

Everyone seemed to sigh in relief.

"In fact… if you are careful, you may visit her…" he muttered. Tohru smiled thankfully and was about to rush to Kisa's room when she heard a very LOUD crashing of doors, and Haru walked in a quickened pace towards Kisa's door.

Hiro nearly collapsed into the chair, but instead righted himself and looked at Haru. "Hey, Haru! Wait your turn!"

The ox looked back at Hiro with a scowl. "Shut up! I'm going on my own, you just catch up later..."

Hiro growled at the ox, and stalked off after him.

Momiji sighed, and grinned, stretching as he stood up before almost skipping after Hiro.

Yuki sweat dropped. "What room is she in?"

They had, naturally, forgot to ask that one important question.

"The first on your left…" The doctor directed them as he smiled. "She's very strong-willed…" he muttered as he smiled.

Yuki nodded, smiling at the doctor, and muttering quick thanks before turning around to gently awaken Tohru. "Come on, we can go visit her now..."

Haru stalked into the room first, shutting the door behind him. A vein popped out on Hiro's head, but he stopped, knowing that Haru would probably end up hurting something more if they tried to interfere. Great, he would have to wait even longer.

Haru slowly approached the bedside, his anger fading rapidly, and his face softening. "Kisa?"

Kisa's small orange orbs turned to look at Haru, and she forced her weakened state to smile.

Shigure and Kyo sweat dropped at the sight of the slammed door.

Yuki leaned against a wall, and sighed, a large sweat drop at the back of his head.

"So, Kisa... how's it hanging?" Haru asked as calmly as he could, looking her over with concerned eyes.

As much as Kisa wanted, she couldn't talk. She only let on a small smile and closed her eyes weakly.

Haru nodded. "Alright then. You're alright, and you wanna see your lover, I got it," He said, looking away, and trying not to sound hurt. He got up and walked out of the room, nearly hitting Hiro with the door as he walked out. "Your turn..."

Hiro nodded, and gulped down the lump in his throat, before walking into the room. He smiled as he saw her lying there, and tried not to cry again.

Kisa slowly managed to open her eyes to look over at Hiro and managed to smile as well. She wished deeply that she could speak with him; at least tell him that she was okay. She was also glad that she hadn't transformed due to her weakened state.

Hiro smiled back, before leaning over the bed, and very gently kissing Kisa's forehead. He didn't move his face back much when he spoke. "Hurry up and get better, alright? I'll be waiting..." He paused for a second, trying to get rid of the tightness in his throat. "I love you, so you have to come back soon, alright?"

Kisa's eyes became slightly swollen as she nodded. Suddenly a raspy voice was heard. "I'm sorry…" it spoke.

Hiro turned back to the bed, and smiled, tears in the corners of his eyes. "Stop that! Or I'll start apologizing, too!"

He walked out of the room, and nodded to everyone else that he was done, and he leaned against the wall next to the open door to the hospital room.

Tohru hurriedly rushed into Kisa's room and smothered her with hugs, to which Kisa did not mind so much. Tohru was delighted to know that Kisa was all right.

Kyo stood next to Hiro, watching him closely. "You okay runt?" he asked in a semi-polite way.

Hiro sighed. "Let's see... I just watched the..." he paused, but decided that he didn't care who knew anymore. "I just watched the love of my life get stuck in an emergency room, and then watched as a doctor told a family that they wouldn't be getting their daughter back. Now that I'm sure she'll be all right, I'm suffering from the backlash of all the stress laid upon me in the last 24 hours. No, in the last week. I feel like I'm cursed far beyond that of..." he looked around to make sure no one else was around. "You know... the Juunishi."

Kyo seemed to roll his eyes. "Well, lover boy, who is there to blame? If that damn Akito weren't ever born on this planet, life would be a whole lot easier." He grumbled.

Finally, in what seemed like a short time, Tohru and Shigure had bid their good lucks to Kisa in hope she would get better soon. Shigure bent down one last time to whisper into her ear. "You know, this is an awfully mean trick on Hiro, so you get better and I'll give up on the camera." He said with a wink.

Hiro rolled his eyes. "You say the strangest things, Kyo... if Akito wasn't born on this planet, where would he be born? Mars? Jupiter? It would've been the same, he still would've had control over all our souls..."

Momiji nearly dragged Yuki into the room as Tohru and Shigure left. Momiji hugged her, but not as tightly as he usually would have, while Yuki just ruffled her hair.

"Alright! Now that you're here, you'll get all healed up, and then you can come back with us and we can have tons of fun!" Momiji exclaimed.

Yuki smiled. "You know when they plan on releasing you?"

Kisa smiled softly and when she was asked the question, she simply shook her head from side to side.

"When her fever has vanished…" answered a nurse, curious as to why so many people were here to see the girl.

Yuki nodded in understanding. "That shouldn't take too terribly long. And I'm sure her ribs are nice and wrapped up now so she won't aggravate them more..."

Momiji nodded quickly, before looking back down at Kisa. "Right!! We'll be waiting for you! Some more anxiously than others..."

Yuki smiled, and shook his head at the meaning behind that.

Kisa's face held a small tinge of pink as she thought about Momiji's words and sweat dropped. But then she was stricken with the sudden realization of being left alone; other than the doctors and nurses.

Momiji stood up, and headed with Yuki towards the door. "Alright then, we'll see you later!"

He marched out, Yuki following behind him.

Hiro sighed, and stepped away from the wall, looking into the room. He didn't very well want to leave her alone here, especially not after what she'd been through, but he knew the hospital had rules.

He looked out towards the waiting room where everyone had gathered. "I've got an idea... now when are visiting hours over?"

"7:30…" A nurse inquired as she looked at him curiously. "You have a few hours…"

Tohru and Shigure both eyed Hiro suspiciously.

Hiro motioned Haru and Momiji to join him a safe distance away from the main group of people.

"This better be good, lamb chop," Haru said angrily.

Momiji scowled at Haru. "Ach... dummkopf..."

Hiro nodded his head. "Oh it will. I just need someone to distract Kisa's mother while the other one runs to go get her little tiger stuffed animal."

Haru cocked his head. "Her what?"

Momiji giggled. "I get it... but that means... are we going to have to go back to the main compound?"

Hiro nodded. "One of you has to lie to Oba-chan... Kisa's mother, or just stretch the truth and keep her busy while the other gets her tiger."

Haru shook his head, and Momiji was about to burst with happiness. "I'll get the tiger, if Haru'll distract the mother!"

Haru looked confused for a moment, but nodded his head anyway.

The three of them separated, and Momiji and Haru both looked at Shigure.

"We need to get to the main compound," Haru said bluntly.

Shigure sweat dropped. "Am I a money bank?" he asked deliberately as he began to grumble, forking over enough money to get them there and back. "You better not let Akito-sama find you…" he added.

Haru smirked as he took the money. "Kureno's already covering for me leaving in the first place. I'll stay there, I'm supposed to be there right now, anyway."

Momiji smiled. "I'll be the one coming back."

Hiro nodded, looked over the remaining people in the room, and then headed back towards Kisa's room. "I'll keep her company until they come back."

Yuki nodded.

Kisa had fallen asleep after receiving a shot of medicine. She lay there in silence, the only movement being the slight rise and fall of her chest.

Hiro walked in, smiling serenely as he stood there for a moment. He found himself getting lost in memory again. Surprising how calm the hospital could be.

Yuki sweat dropped as he watched Haru and Momiji prance out towards the waiting taxi. Actually, Momiji was the only one prancing, Haru looked like he was dreading his very existence. Though Yuki could hardly blame the ox. Kisa's mother could be very sensitive when it came to her daughter, and any bad news would definitely result in Haru finding himself in a very delicate situation.

Yuki sighed, and sat down in a nearby chair. "So... we're going to wait for Momiji to come back... and then we're going to leave?"

Tohru nodded. "But how will we deal with that? There are people here… too many…"

Yuki shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea... and it's not like we could walk into one of the bathrooms with you..."

Tohru blushed deeply at the thought. "N-Not really… We'd have to make sure that the people are out of the bathroom."

Hiro walked into the room, a slightly wistful smile on his face, before his brain clicked into the problem with the situation. "Tohru, bit of a problem. You can fit a rat, and a rabbit into the pockets of that coat easily enough, and I don't wanna know what you did with Kyo to make him fit. But a sheep... is going to be a problem, and Shigure would be a bigger one."

Yuki laughed at the thought of Tohru trying to fit a sheep that was larger than all of the other creatures into that trench coat.

Tohru sweat dropped again. "Ermmmmm… I'm not sure…." She muttered.

Shigure sweat dropped as well. "We could still go with my plan and stuff them into the trunk…." He muttered as he clasped his hands together merrily.

Hiro and Yuki both shot Shigure a glare.

"In the trunk... is that any place to keep me?" Hiro asked, scoffing.

Yuki smiled. "At least I can still fit in her pocket."

Hiro shot a different glare at Yuki.

Tohru laughed nervously as she sweat dropped.

"And how would we not change back while in the trunk?" Kyo asked, pondering the question.

"And that's the first time I've heard the cat say something intelligent all day," Hiro said, smiling at Kyo in only a half smart-assed manner.

Yuki laughed softly. "And that is one of the greatest questions of the day."

Kyo clenched his fists and grumbled.

"Could Aya give us a ride?" asked Shigure as he grinned.

Yuki looked in horror at Shigure. "Ayame?"

Hiro clenched a hand to his forehead. "It's true the idiot has a car but... honestly now."

"I'll drive!" Shigure yipped as he smiled.

Kyo face planted as Shigure said so and held his head in his hands. "That's even worse!"

Yuki's face got more horrified, if that was possible.

Hiro rolled his eyes. "That is really, and truly even worse. I think the point was that we never wanted to see Ayame in the first place..."

Yuki nodded his head in agreement.

There was a loud "HMPH" from behind all of them as Ayame stood there. He was dressed in his usual attire as he tapped his foot against the ground. "Rude of you…"

"Daagh!" Hiro exclaimed as he face-planted.

Yuki buried his face in his hands as he sweat dropped. "When did you get here?"

"Five minutes ago…" he grumbled slightly. Muttering things again, he barged into Kisa's room.

Hiro got up, looking only a little annoyed. "And he never said anything..."

Yuki's sweat drop got larger. "That's just so like him..."

"I heard that!" Ayame exclaimed from Kisa's room.

Kisa slowly opened her eyes. "Aya-san?" she asked in a small voice, feeling better than before. But he had disturbed her sleep, and the nurse wasn't pleased.

Hiro peeked into the room, and looked at Ayame with the same disapproving look the nurse had. "Good work, Ayame..."

Yuki tried to shrink into his chair. This was a disaster. It had to be when his brother was involved.

"Oh younger brother" called Aya as he exited the room. "Would you care to explain?" he asked.

Kisa looked over at Hiro and attempted to sit up, which only made her grimace as her head began to throb.

Hiro shook his head quickly, and gently tried to push her back down on the bed. "Don't worry about sitting up. It's going to make it worse. Don't do anything that might slow down your recovery..."

Yuki took a deep breath as he stared at his brother. "Kisa got sick when she got locked up, and never really recovered from that. And she's injured because Hiro just happened to have a nightmare while in sheep form. There."

Ayame stared blankly at Yuki and grumbled. "Wait… WHAT?!" he yelled in a booming voice that yet again made Kisa more aware of what was going on around her.

"My head…" she muttered as she held her shaky hands to her forehead.

Yuki continue to stare at his brother. "You heard me, Ayame."

Hiro smiled sympathetically at her. "Want me to go shut him up?" he whispered, moving his face close to her ear so she could hear him.

"I-It's okay Hiro-kun…" she muttered in a dizzy monotone.

Aya sighed and sent a glare towards Shigure, who cowered mentally. "F-Fine…" Shigure muttered as he explained fully what had happened.

"So it's lover boy's fault… hmmm… How did Haru deal with this?"

"Black.." Shigure muttered in one word.

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Were you expecting it to be any other way? It's lover-boy's fault..." Yuki sighed. "You have no idea how hard Hiro's been taking everything. He already had one breakdown."

Hiro smiled back at Kisa, and sighed. "As you wish. He's not yelling anymore anyway..." He pulled up a chair, and sat down next to her bed, sighing as he laid his forehead on the soft cool sheets at the edge of the bed.

Kisa smiled softly again and rested a small hand upon Hiro's hair, ruffling it slightly like Yuki had.

Shigure peeked into the room. "Oh no! Hiro has sex hair!" he yelped as he rolled on the ground full of laughter.

Hiro rolled his eyes; he was getting kind of tired of the teasing. "Shigure... if I was going to do that, first, I'd make sure she WASN'T sick and in the hospital, and second, I would make sure that you were at a very comfortable distance away. Like in the USA or something."

Shigure snickered and Ayame snickered as well. "S-Sorry Hiro-kun…" she muttered as she looked down at im and took her hand away.

Hiro grabbed her hand gently, stopping it, before turning to Ayame and Shigure. "And I'd make sure Ayame was far away as well. Like Paris or something."

Kyo sweat dropped as he stood there with his back against the wall. "When is that damn r-… Momiji going to get back?" he asked.

Kisa looked down at his hand and smiled softly as she lightly gripped his.

Momiji walked past Kyo, with a simple "I'm right here. I've been here for a few minutes."

Hiro perked up hearing Momiji's voice, before standing up, and releasing Kisa's hand. "Present for you, I'll be right back..."

He walked back to Momiji, who quietly handed over the stuffed animal with a giggle. Hiro turned back, and walked into the room with his arms behind his back so she wouldn't see what he had.

"You have turned into Ayame now?" asked Kyo, his stance in that of a surprised one.

Kisa looked at Hiro curiously with eyes ¾ of the way opened.

Momiji sighed as he looked back at Kyo. "No, I just didn't want to interrupt the conversation."

Hiro stroked the tiger's fur from behind his back, before pulling it out slowly, smiling at her. "So, you've already seen it, but..." He hugged it tightly, before handing it to her. "When we have to go back... I thought to give this to you so you wouldn't be lonely..."

Kisa's eyes widened as she looked at the tiger. Smiling softly, "Thank you Hiro-kun…" she muttered as she hugged the tiger tightly.

Shigure looked at a clock on the wall. "We have ten minutes…" he muttered. Looking over at Tohru, he noticed that she was already asleep in her chair again.

Hiro nodded, before hugging Kisa once more. "I guess that means we're going to have to leave."

Momiji smiled, his head tilted to the side. Yuki smiled and shook his head at Tohru. "Yeah, we probably should leave."

Kisa did her best to hug him back as she felt a familiar lump in her throat. She didn't want to be left, but she had her tiger with her to remind her that she wasn't really alone. "G-Good night Hiro-kun…" she muttered softly as she relaxed in her bed, but still watched him.

Shigure looked puzzled. "What are we going to do?" he asked as he looked at Tohru, who was in a fast and peaceful sleep.

"Doesn't Ayame have his car?" Hiro said pointedly, looking at the silver-haired man. "Or are you talking about the stup... about Tohru?"

Yuki tried again to wake Tohru up, shaking her gently.

Tohru was still asleep while Yuki shook her. "I… brought my car…" grumbled Ayame as it seemed most of the eyes were on him.

Kisa finally managed to fall asleep, the stuffed animal tucked tightly against her.

Yuki sighed, defeated. "I wish one of us could pick her up..."

Hiro shrugged. "Honestly now, where's Kagura or Ri-... where's Kagura when you need her?"

Momiji looked kinda sad. "I wish there were more girls in our family..."

Yuki and Hiro stared at the rabbit, a little shocked.

Shigure arched an eyebrow at Momiji.

Ayame did the same.

Shigure, gaining an idea, wandered over to Tohru and began to whisper into her ear.

Tohru's face flushed deeply and she sat up, now fully awake. Shigure grinned.

Yuki looked very agitatedly at Shigure. "What, pray tell, did you just say?"

Momiji giggled, getting all sorts of ideas.

Hiro rolled his eyes at the entire situation.

"Ohhh… nothing…" Shigure lied.

Tohru sat there, face still flushed completely. "Ehhhh…." She muttered.

"Visiting hours are over…" called a nurse.

"All right..." Hiro said, before looking back at Shigure with an eyebrow raised.

A vein popped up on Yuki's clenched fist. "What did he say to you, Tohru?"

"I-I-I can't say..." she muttered, still blushing as Shigure laughed.

"Let's head home shall we?" asked Shigure.

Yuki glared at Shigure. "I WILL know what you said."

Momiji giggled. "I think it involves, you, Yuki... that's why he won't tell..."

Hiro clutched his forehead, grumbling as he walked past them and towards the parking lot.

Kyo rolled his eyes, trying to not lunge forward and impale a large whack to the back of Shigure's head. Shigure merely snickered and walked along as Ayame lead ahead. Tohru followed as well.

Momiji giggled and skipped after Shigure. "Was I right? Hmm?"

Hiro was already leaning against the side of Ayame's car, looking impatient. Impatient and nervous, Yuki noted.

Though the rat could hardly blame Hiro, it was Hiro's love in that hospital after all.

Kyo was trailing behind and looked at the car.

"Well… this will be difficult… How can we ALL fit in here with Tohru?" Shigure asked.

Yuki sighed. "Use your head, Shigure..." He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, but managed to look calm and collected on the surface. He walked over to Tohru, and hugged her. With a loud poof! He was a rat.

Momiji giggled, and practically jumped on Tohru. After the smoke had cleared Momiji smiled. "How's this? Better?"

Tohru looked around, confused due to the fact she was being used as easily as that. Smiling, she sweat dropped and nodded as she helped them into the car.

Kyo rolled his eyes and grumbled as he stood there. Shigure, being an idiot, pushed Kyo into Tohru, making him transform as well. "Much easier…" Shigure muttered as he smiled.


End file.
